![]() A native bird of prey driven to extinction by relentless human persecution. The red kite’s story is depressingly familiar. Because before then, there were no red kites in Scotland. It’s an incredible sight, but what’s even more incredible is that this wouldn’t even have been possible just 25 years ago. But the kites keep coming, and when I look up there are 30 or more of them circling, swooping, diving and jostling. In the midst of it all, a giant gangling heron glides in like a pterodactyl and skewers some meat too. Crows are unceremoniously elbowed out of the way as kite after kite swoops down with impressive accuracy. I think one of the crows or a buzzard takes and flies off with a piece of meat, and in an instant there are kites swooping down at the pile, grabbing pieces on the wing and flying off with them. ![]() The commotion kicks off so quickly that I completely miss what starts it. ![]() Then in an instant, without warning, everything outside is moving at speed. Occasionally one of the kites takes exception and chases them off. Crows, magpies and a buzzard all swoop close to the food or plonk themselves down next to it. While the kites play their strange game, other local creatures, evidently oblivious to the rules, show much more of an interest. It feels like a game where they’re daring one another to make the first move. If I didn’t know better I could swear they’re deliberately feigning disinterest. Instead they tease, taking it in turns to glide slowly over the meat and then circle away upwards. We wait for them to take the bait but they don’t. The only thing we as spectators are guaranteed of seeing is the meat being dumped on the ground at 1:30pm. After all, these are wild animals and they work to nobody’s timetable but their own. Like all the best wildlife encounters there are no guarantees here. Around 20 of them have started circling over the field, definitely showing an interest but for the time being they’re keeping a discreet distance. Show timeīack at Argaty, the meat is there to be collected and the kites know it. They are one of nature’s great refuse collectors, and they know when there’s meat on the ground to be collected. They have a niche like everything else in nature and they’re superbly adapted to it. This isn’t to take anything away from them as a predator, however. If they do take live prey then it tends to be creatures smaller than themselves like earthworms, rats, voles, pigeon chicks perhaps, but nothing larger than small rabbits. In fact they often need other creatures to open large carcasses like deer for them, as they lack the means themselves. Those birds use their strength, bulk or speed to catch and kill relatively large prey, whereas kites are weak in comparison and are therefore predominantly scavengers looking for carrion, for an easy meal. They’re not the powerful sudden strike predators that eagles, ospreys, peregrine falcons or even the relatively diminutive sparrowhawks are. Their size alone makes red kites look every bit the intimidating raptor but appearances are deceptive. The wings also appear to almost bend backwards towards their tips, whereas the wings of a buzzard are held slightly forward. When viewed from below, the underside of the kite’s wings is dark but with noticeable white bands towards the wing tips. Coupled with its enormous 5ft wingspan, approaching 6ft in larger birds, they are able to stay on the wing and glide for long periods, needing only occasional slow flapping of the wings to maintain flight. The large flexible tail makes the red kite superbly agile. Note the differences in tail & wing shape. Left & Centre, red kite roosting and in flight. This difference can help you distinguish them from buzzards, whose tails are shorter and stockier, and are usually spread out like fans rather than triangles. They have a large, long tail relative to their bodies, which is often deeply forked in flight, and when the tail is spread to help it manoeuvre in the air it is almost triangular in appearance with sharp edges. Like the smaller kestrel it is a brown / rusty red colour, especially in sunlight, and has a silver-grey head. The red kite is perhaps one of the easiest of our birds of prey to identify. And we’re waiting for the famous Argaty red kites to appear. I and four other visitors are at Lerrocks Farm near Doune. It’s about as unlikely a prelude to a spectacular wildlife display as you could imagine, but something quite wonderful is about to happen and there’s a very real sense of anticipation and excitement. I’m staring intently at it but every now and then I glance upwards, scanning the sky. Outside the hide, in an adjacent field, is a small pile of raw meat that our guide has dumped onto the ground from a bucket. ![]() As I look through an open hatch the sun is warm on my face. It’s a cold, bright winter’s day and I’m sitting in a wooden hide.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |