| Birds I Have Fancied 13:57 - Sep 29 with 4839 views | Boston |
A year or two ago I started a thread about a raptor I'd spotted, well I've just had another surprise. About 30 mins ago I pulled into the grounds of Warbrook House in Eversley, Berkshire and sitting on the railed fence straight in front of me (not at all concerned about me or the car), is what I'd swear was a large adult Red Tailed Kite! I see these birds 2/3 times a week in Massachusetts and get a number of good close ups every year, but I had no idea they were in the UK...or has a zoo lost one? Will the RSPB be interviewing me on BBC2 this evening! |  |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:03 - Sep 29 with 4002 views | dezzar |
Pretty common round Berkshire area , saw loads when working down there a few years ago. See them all over the country now, due to re introduction projects | | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:03 - Sep 29 with 4000 views | Mick_S |
No. They are everywhere nowadays. There are loads of them in The Wycombe area along the M40. Apparently that’s where they decided to settle in the South and have moved around the area. We have them nesting where I work in Hillingdon. Beautiful creatures - effortless flight patterns.
Someone on here will know more. |  |
| Did I ever mention that I was in Minder? |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:15 - Sep 29 with 3968 views | R_from_afar |
They've been reintroduced in Britain and are now very common. Something which helps their case is that they are omnivores. They apparently even try to nick sandwiches off Oxfordshire schoolchildren at lunchtimes, swooping into the playground.
My great aunt is a very keen birdwatcher who has travelled around the world to see rare birds. She lives in Sheffield and on a visit to us in Bucks, got very excited when she saw a red kite. We casually pointed out that they are ten a penny down here.
My greatest raptor encounter was in Crete. We went to the start of the Samaria Gorge but rather than following 99% of the other tourists down the gorge, we walked up from its start, into the mountains. That's where we saw a lammergeier, or bearded vulture, gliding past. They are literally at the bottom of the vulture pecking order:
Black vulture: At the top of the pecking order. Huge and powerful enough to rip open a carcass.
Griffon vulture: Next in the pecking order.
Egyptian vulture: Next, has a more slender bill so it can extract the meat between bones.
Bearded vulture: Takes the bones, drops them onto rocks to smash them so it can pull out the marrow. Very strong stomach acids which can cope with large pieces of bone.
Vultures tend to have very few feathers on their heads and necks, to avoid getting them covered in gore.
They also form communications networks whereby they will cruise the skies just within sight of each other, so they can alert their mates across large distances if they see a potential meal.
I saw my first vulture in the Pyrenees. I was near the top of a mountain when I saw a group of large birds circling overhead. I had no idea what they were and stepped back to get a better view. It was as I tripped over the bones and other bits of what had once been a sheep that the penny dropped....
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| "Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1." |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:25 - Sep 29 with 3922 views | Mick_S |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:15 - Sep 29 by R_from_afar |
They've been reintroduced in Britain and are now very common. Something which helps their case is that they are omnivores. They apparently even try to nick sandwiches off Oxfordshire schoolchildren at lunchtimes, swooping into the playground.
My great aunt is a very keen birdwatcher who has travelled around the world to see rare birds. She lives in Sheffield and on a visit to us in Bucks, got very excited when she saw a red kite. We casually pointed out that they are ten a penny down here.
My greatest raptor encounter was in Crete. We went to the start of the Samaria Gorge but rather than following 99% of the other tourists down the gorge, we walked up from its start, into the mountains. That's where we saw a lammergeier, or bearded vulture, gliding past. They are literally at the bottom of the vulture pecking order:
Black vulture: At the top of the pecking order. Huge and powerful enough to rip open a carcass.
Griffon vulture: Next in the pecking order.
Egyptian vulture: Next, has a more slender bill so it can extract the meat between bones.
Bearded vulture: Takes the bones, drops them onto rocks to smash them so it can pull out the marrow. Very strong stomach acids which can cope with large pieces of bone.
Vultures tend to have very few feathers on their heads and necks, to avoid getting them covered in gore.
They also form communications networks whereby they will cruise the skies just within sight of each other, so they can alert their mates across large distances if they see a potential meal.
I saw my first vulture in the Pyrenees. I was near the top of a mountain when I saw a group of large birds circling overhead. I had no idea what they were and stepped back to get a better view. It was as I tripped over the bones and other bits of what had once been a sheep that the penny dropped....
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I did say someone would know more than me!  | |
| Did I ever mention that I was in Minder? |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:32 - Sep 29 with 3903 views | Michael_Hunt2 |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:03 - Sep 29 by Mick_S |
No. They are everywhere nowadays. There are loads of them in The Wycombe area along the M40. Apparently that’s where they decided to settle in the South and have moved around the area. We have them nesting where I work in Hillingdon. Beautiful creatures - effortless flight patterns.
Someone on here will know more. |
They were extinct in the UK until Sir John Paul Getty created a breeding programme at his family estate close to Watlington - Stokenchurch in the 1990's. That's the reason they first populated the western Chiltern Hills. Since then their numbers have increased so well that the birds have had to migrate further afield. (Similar to the London population I suppose?)
Thanks to a "considerate" neighbour we regularly have up to 12 or so descending for the free meal that he leaves out.  | | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:43 - Sep 29 with 3857 views | Mick_S |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:32 - Sep 29 by Michael_Hunt2 |
They were extinct in the UK until Sir John Paul Getty created a breeding programme at his family estate close to Watlington - Stokenchurch in the 1990's. That's the reason they first populated the western Chiltern Hills. Since then their numbers have increased so well that the birds have had to migrate further afield. (Similar to the London population I suppose?)
Thanks to a "considerate" neighbour we regularly have up to 12 or so descending for the free meal that he leaves out. |
Do they eat parrots? We’ve got them too, Bos. | |
| Did I ever mention that I was in Minder? |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:43 - Sep 29 with 3857 views | NW5Hoop |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:32 - Sep 29 by Michael_Hunt2 |
They were extinct in the UK until Sir John Paul Getty created a breeding programme at his family estate close to Watlington - Stokenchurch in the 1990's. That's the reason they first populated the western Chiltern Hills. Since then their numbers have increased so well that the birds have had to migrate further afield. (Similar to the London population I suppose?)
Thanks to a "considerate" neighbour we regularly have up to 12 or so descending for the free meal that he leaves out. |
Not quite: there was always a population in Wales, but they were extremely rare.
I wrote several thousands words about them a couple of years back, for anyone interested … https://www.tortoisemedia.com/2019/06/03/return-of-the-red-kite/ | | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:45 - Sep 29 with 3853 views | ted_hendrix |
We built Red Kite House for the Environment Agency just outside Wallingford years ago.
Red kites have been around for ages now. |  |
| My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic. |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 15:02 - Sep 29 with 3785 views | dmm |
I regularly see red kites in the skies above where I live, along with buzzards and the occasional kestrel. Beautiful creatures.
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 15:06 - Sep 29 with 3764 views | HantsR |
I'm a keen birder and got to photograph and record quite a few interesting, sometimes rare species in the New Forest and South Coast.
My favourite, given that this is a QPR site, has to be a Hoopoe!? |  | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 15:53 - Sep 29 with 3668 views | guitarzan |
I saw a hoopoe in Menorca. Gave me quite a turn as they are so rare | | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 16:19 - Sep 29 with 3575 views | R_from_afar |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 15:06 - Sep 29 by HantsR |
I'm a keen birder and got to photograph and record quite a few interesting, sometimes rare species in the New Forest and South Coast.
My favourite, given that this is a QPR site, has to be a Hoopoe!? |
You might see a white-tailed eagle down here, they have recently been reintroduced:
https://www.forestryengland.uk/blog/white-tailed-eagle-project-february-2023-upd
I saw some, from a distance, when I was on the Isle of Mull. | |
| "Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1." |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 16:58 - Sep 29 with 3519 views | PlanetHonneywood |
Red tailed kites; critiquing the police and other social services; reminiscing Michael Gambon; live updates from the golf in Rome; exploring various musical genres; and providing public service information on train strikes...is it me, or would we be better off avoiding mention of you know, the football lot out of W12? |  |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 17:17 - Sep 29 with 3485 views | Stainrod |
This thread has not lived up to the expectations of the title | | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 17:35 - Sep 29 with 3456 views | Ranger_Things |
Last year while in Somerset I spotted a Sea Eagle. The thing was fcking massive, more pterodactyl than bird. |  | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 17:42 - Sep 29 with 3427 views | Juzzie |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 17:17 - Sep 29 by Stainrod |
This thread has not lived up to the expectations of the title |
lol! Let's keep it that way for Clive's sake! |  | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 19:22 - Sep 29 with 3313 views | Rebalhoop |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 15:53 - Sep 29 by guitarzan |
I saw a hoopoe in Menorca. Gave me quite a turn as they are so rare |
Saw one in Majorca,and we were staying in the Puput Villa,
Puput is apparently another name for a Hoopoe.. | | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 19:38 - Sep 29 with 3272 views | kernowhoop |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:15 - Sep 29 by R_from_afar |
They've been reintroduced in Britain and are now very common. Something which helps their case is that they are omnivores. They apparently even try to nick sandwiches off Oxfordshire schoolchildren at lunchtimes, swooping into the playground.
My great aunt is a very keen birdwatcher who has travelled around the world to see rare birds. She lives in Sheffield and on a visit to us in Bucks, got very excited when she saw a red kite. We casually pointed out that they are ten a penny down here.
My greatest raptor encounter was in Crete. We went to the start of the Samaria Gorge but rather than following 99% of the other tourists down the gorge, we walked up from its start, into the mountains. That's where we saw a lammergeier, or bearded vulture, gliding past. They are literally at the bottom of the vulture pecking order:
Black vulture: At the top of the pecking order. Huge and powerful enough to rip open a carcass.
Griffon vulture: Next in the pecking order.
Egyptian vulture: Next, has a more slender bill so it can extract the meat between bones.
Bearded vulture: Takes the bones, drops them onto rocks to smash them so it can pull out the marrow. Very strong stomach acids which can cope with large pieces of bone.
Vultures tend to have very few feathers on their heads and necks, to avoid getting them covered in gore.
They also form communications networks whereby they will cruise the skies just within sight of each other, so they can alert their mates across large distances if they see a potential meal.
I saw my first vulture in the Pyrenees. I was near the top of a mountain when I saw a group of large birds circling overhead. I had no idea what they were and stepped back to get a better view. It was as I tripped over the bones and other bits of what had once been a sheep that the penny dropped....
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Blimey RfromAfar! I am going to Crete next week. I may have to reinforce my baseball cap at the weekend. | | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 21:25 - Sep 29 with 3147 views | HantsR |
Thanks. As it so happened, I managed to get good hotographs of 2 white tailed eagles on a trip down the River Beaulieu. I've also got good photos of Osprey, Spoonbill, White Stork and Hobby ( Falco subutteo) amongst many others in my area. Love it down here! [Post edited 29 Sep 2023 21:28]
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 21:34 - Sep 29 with 3119 views | thame_hoops |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:32 - Sep 29 by Michael_Hunt2 |
They were extinct in the UK until Sir John Paul Getty created a breeding programme at his family estate close to Watlington - Stokenchurch in the 1990's. That's the reason they first populated the western Chiltern Hills. Since then their numbers have increased so well that the birds have had to migrate further afield. (Similar to the London population I suppose?)
Thanks to a "considerate" neighbour we regularly have up to 12 or so descending for the free meal that he leaves out. |
On my local residents page on Facebook, there’s weekly posts about people feeding red kites lol |  | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 21:38 - Sep 29 with 3113 views | Hoopstar |
See red kites all over the place around mid-Sussex, even see them occasionally in Haywards Heath itself. Beautiful creatures - they've fully moved into my running route just outside town. Love seeing them circling over the woods and fields. Probably thinking I'm bound to drop dead soon enough with the noises coming out as I slog up another hill. |  | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 21:54 - Sep 29 with 3093 views | loftboy |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 17:17 - Sep 29 by Stainrod |
This thread has not lived up to the expectations of the title |
I bet Woking got excited when he saw this thread 😂😂😂 |  |
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 23:39 - Sep 29 with 2996 views | BazzaInTheLoft |
Seriously lads, when we‘re not arguing about identity politics or trying to flog cryptocurrency, this forum can be proper nice sometimes.
What a lovely thread. Proper cheered me up.
The incredible success of the reintroduction of UK raptors over the last 10/20 years is a proper good news story that we all deserve. |  | | |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 01:10 - Sep 30 with 2929 views | numptydumpty |
Robin red breast...
Soon after my mum died, both of my sisters and myself and my dad also, we all were sat in parents' garden and a Robin came up very close to us, all on separate occasions.
Said "Hello Mum" to the little bird myself.
Old wives tale says they appear to comfort if loved ones have lost someone.
But so tame, literally landed on my lap, when I saw the little bugger !!! [Post edited 30 Sep 2023 1:26]
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| Birds I Have Fancied on 06:28 - Sep 30 with 2823 views | Wilkinswatercarrier |
| Birds I Have Fancied on 14:43 - Sep 29 by Mick_S |
Do they eat parrots? We’ve got them too, Bos. |
We have Buzzards living in Richmond Park. In the summer they went over our house and the parakeets were going nuts. Clearly they are a good snack for the Buzzard.
So any bird that eats parakeets is welcome in London! | | | |
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