16 April 2024 - Hollingworth Lake

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Red Kite

A bit brigher with some sun and blue skies but still a cold breeze.  Nothing new around; I could hear Green Woodpecker from the direction of Rakewood and the Blackcap was singing from the Big Hedge but I still couldn't clap eyes on it. A male Reed Bunting was over the wall at Bib Knowl but no sign or sound of any Grasshopper Warbler.

At 15:15 a message came through from Andrew on WhatsApp about a Red Kite over the Rugby Club.  I dashed upstairs and looked through the back bedroom window and was able to pick it up, soaring.  It was rather distant and through the bins it was difficult to tell whether it was a Kite or a Buzzard but through the camera's zoom you could see the forked tail.  I took some distant record shots on which you can just see the forked tail and then went outside to see if I could see it from there, but to no avail. I didn't see it again

Red Kite (record shot!), 1/800 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 100