On the subject of team work

Pleasure Chris us ex 'plodders' know all about team work eh!

Success from Team Work

I refer to the entry from Elfyn Pugh dated Tuesday, 23 March 2010 and the subsequent exchange of emails between us. I was aware of a pair of kites in part of the area as described but, I had been unable to locate them. I have to report after much searching I found a new nest site on my patch in the vicinity of Llangadfan. Two adult birds have been observed flying over, in and out of the wood. One is tagged and a native bird , however, the year and tag details have to be obtained, the other is not tagged. Thank you Elfyn, for pointing me in a slightly different direction, kite monitoring is also about team work and communication.

Photogenic bird

Wow! Superb photo's of the Kite Tony. Regarding the wandering Kite last seen on Bardsey can you tell us where it originates from in Wales?

Amazing morning's photography

Earlier this morning Red Liford kindly put me into a hide I've had on a kite nest for several years. Don't often find the time to go in it but glad I did today - the light was perfect and the birds performed brilliantly. Here are two photos that stood out, out of the hundreds taken.

Island-hopping vacation?

Amazingly, the Wicklow-released kite which turned up on Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel has now made it to Bardsey Island off the Lleyn Peninsula where the warden, Steve Stansfield, took the attached photo earlier today.

Kite at Trawsfynnydd

I was travelling on the A.470 road north of Dolgellau yesterday afternoon (17/4/10) and saw a kite foraging next to the road. It was untagged. The map reference is SH 712305 and it was near a farm called Tyddyn-Mawr (Trawsfynydd) It was about 2 miles north from the entrance to the Coed-y-Brenin Forest Centre.

Kite seen on the Lleyn Peninsula

I've had an e-mail from a Steve Dorling who lives in Llanaelhaern near Caernarfon who says that back in around September last year he was on the end of the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales when he saw a kite which was flying along the ridge of the coastline and seemed to be making its way across to Bardsey Island. He was at Cim farm in Cilan when he saw it. (I'm presuming this is a wandering juvenile bird).
Steve has also seen a kite at Llanaelhaern near his home about 4 months ago (I presume he means December or January) on the edge of a 200 acre pine plantation known as 'Glasfryn'.
His most recent sighting of a kite was over Llanaber just north of Barmouth on the 5th April
(I know that there are a couple of pairs in that area of Gwynedd).

Purple 11

Whilst checking a new nest in east Radnorshire, I was able to read the tag of one of the birds probably a male. Purple 11. This bird was hatched in 2007 in a nest monitored by me not very far away.

I was not able to tell if the femaile bird was sitting.

Sitting Birds

After some barren periods without seeing kites I decided to check my established nests to check if the birds have started laying sitting. I have two nests where the female is sitting. I will check the remainder in the next couple of days.

tag sighting

Watched 2 kites in immature plumage until they landed in a big tree near Bettws Bledrws; one was tagged pink 37. Is it a local Tony?

Herefordshire - There is More

I have today located another potential nest in Herefordshire in the centre of the county. It would appear that two untagged birds are taking up residency in a wood consisting mainly of poplars. I had to watch them for a couple of days to confirm my suspicions. They may have nested here last year but I cannot be certain. The landowner knew that last year buzzard nested in the wood but, was unaware of the presence of kite.

This is New to Me

It is claimed by a lady who keeps captive bred owls, that for the past fifteen months or so at about 11:00pm, (yes at night) a red kite perches on a nearby telegraph pole and takes the remains of her owl feed. She told me this does not occur every night but about four or five times a week.

Comments would be appreciated.

Another Nest in Herefordshire

A few days ago an ex colleague called me and asked “Do you want to watch red kite. I replied “I am.” I told him I was in Wales. He said “Would you like to see them closer to home?” Needless to say arrangements were made for a visit. He lives in a secluded area less than ten miles from the Hereford city centre.

Within minutes of my arrival, a couple of days later, two untagged adult birds were seen leaving the nearby spinney, they had been in the area for three or four weeks.

I later made contact with the landowner a retired military officer who unfortunately refused permission to access the spinney for monitoring etc.

I do have two pairs of eyes in the inside so hopefully we will get some data.

poisons nearer to home

I was spoken to whilst perusing the dog toys in Morrison's last week and the chat got around to rats whereupon I did my lecture about 2nd generation rat poison. Yes, they said, our neighbour stopped using it after his sheepdog died having eaten a dead rat.

Re- poisoned kites in Ireland

It's damned bad news about the poisoning incidents in Ireland shooting our birds is one thing but poisoning has far more serious implications. This news would not go down well with the farmers in my area of Wales when we next ask them to release one of their 'precious' chicks for the Irish Red Kite re-introduction programme. It seems that these incidents are generally deplored by the Irish farming community. The incident concerning the dog being poisoned by Strychnine is most disturbing! With such a blase attitude to the use of poisons in Ireland which clearly presents a risk to human life as well as animal life the Irish government and the Garda should do the utmost to take the necessary steps to regulate the availability and use of the poisons in question. I hope these incidents receive maximum publicity in the country.