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Red Kite
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These are large birds, perhaps 10% larger than buzzards, but with a noticeably different shape to their tail, and the way they use that tail to maneouver is quite distinctive. So is their reddish colouring, and you can quickly recognise the occasional buzzard as being something quite different amongst the red kites.
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Buzzard
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On the Friday of my visit, the BBC Springwatch crew were there filming from the Tower Hide. Wildlife photographer and TV presenter, Simon King, took Chris Powell's place in spreading out the food from the tractor. However, I was so in awe of the kites, and so absorbed by them, I never even realised anything like that was going on! Actually it's a credit to the BBC that they went about their business with minimum disruption to everyone else. Being keen on photographing wildlife, and having been so enormously impressed with the footage Simon King shot for Planet Earth of a great white shark breaching, amongst other things, I wish I'd had the chance to meet him. Never mind, I'm sure he had more than enough to do on the day. |
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If you wish, you can camp At Gigrin Farm, in tents or caravans/campervans, though it may be advisable to book ahead at busier times. So many red kites in the sky at once is an amazing spectacle, and you get a really good chance to appreciate what beautiful birds they are. They are surprisingly acrobatic in flight for such large birds, and seeing them snatch meat from the ground without landing, and then eat it from their talons while flying, is something that will live long in my memory. I thoroughly recommend a visit to Gigrin Farm for anyone interested in British wildlife.
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