canberrabirds

RE: FW: [canberrabirds] Black Kite Hughes Oval

To: 'David Rees' <>, 'Geoffrey Dabb' <>
Subject: RE: FW: [canberrabirds] Black Kite Hughes Oval
From: Philip Veerman <>
Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2018 00:46:12 +0000

And what a banal comment from the TV narrator: “across the road…. the kites are circling too”.     

 

Philip

 

From: David Rees [
Sent: Saturday, 22 December, 2018 11:31 AM
To: Geoffrey Dabb
Cc: <>
Subject: Re: FW: [canberrabirds] Black Kite Hughes Oval

 

 

On Sat, Dec 22, 2018 at 11:22 AM David Rees <> wrote:

Have the same book, and that is how it was then. Was a kid growing up in Wales at the time and red kites were an occasional sight.  This is as it is now in the Reading area, to the west of London.  I have family in the area, visit there frequently, and can vouch for these scenes.  https://www.channel4.com/news/red-kites-from-the-brink-of-extinction-to-life-in-the-burbs

 

my stuff from nearby is at https://vimeo.com/132275890

 

On Sat, Dec 22, 2018 at 9:51 AM Geoffrey Dabb <> wrote:

Attacked by what or whom, David?  Such a dangerous country these days.

 

My tick of a Kite (then the name) in 1965 was of a single bird in  Wales while I was motoring around the UK with a pair of binoculars and A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe, Peterson, Mountfort and Hollom, 1964 edition.  As a matter of historical interest I set out below the range information.

 

 

No chatlines, computers or digital cameras in those days, and nowhere near as many bird books.  Not so many birdwatchers, either.

 

While I have the floor, I shall inflict a couple of recent WOTSITS, blackandwhited in the fashion of the 1960s. Not Kites.

 

 

From: David Rees <>
Sent: Thursday, 20 December 2018 5:46 PM
To: Martin Butterfield <>
Cc: Philip Veerman <>; mariko buszynski <m("gmail.com","marikobuszynski");" target="_blank">>; calyptorhynchus <m("gmail.com","calyptorhynchus");" target="_blank">>; Canberra Birds <>
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Black Kite Hughes Oval

 

A spectacular sight those places in rural Wales where they have always been resident.  The re-introduced birds in southern England have done so well that if one was to do the same sort of feeding there you would get similar results.  Local rubbish dumps do give a free display!!  Unlike in Wales where they are still very rural, In England they now commonly float over the centres of big towns such as Reading and Oxford looking for opportunities, as they did in Shakespears' time.  They seem to not to need remote places to breed and I have seen nests build very close to pre-existing suburbs, usually high in a big Oak tree.  People have been attacked trying to feed them and I know of places where you are warned not to try as a result.  From experience the birds follow you/ check you out  just in case and a picnic might be problematic.  Plenty of bad video on Youtube of local lads tempting them etc... 

 

On Thu, Dec 20, 2018 at 4:50 PM Martin Butterfield <> wrote:

When we went to see one of the Red Kite feeding sites in Wales a couple of Common Buzzards joined in the frenzy generated by about 200 Red Kites..

 

 

 

 

On Thu, 20 Dec 2018 at 16:41, David Rees <> wrote:

For what its worth the  bigger relative of the Black Kite, the European Red Kite (Milvus milvus) in southern England (where it is now common in places) is rarely mobbed by other birds as they float conspicuously about, see https://flic.kr/s/aHsmkPkozG, except sometimes by the same said Carrion Crows. Reason in that case probably is competition for food, e.g. mice and 'tit-bits'  around rubbish dumps and outdoor pig farms, which attract both species, as do Motorway service areas, with their take-away joints and attendant rubbish.   You often see Red Kites floating about with Common Buzzards - which generally go for bigger prey such as rabbits.

 

David

 

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the Canberra Ornithologists Group mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the list contact David McDonald, list manager, phone (02) 6231 8904 or email . If you can not contact David McDonald e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU