Nest Finding

I agree with Liz, this year kites seem very reluctant to settle down to egg-laying. Having one nest which I can observe from the house, although the pair have been here since Jan 11, they have done everything but settle on the nest, they even roost within 10m of the nest. Checked 6 other nests, pairs at each one but not found sitting. Potentially, 4 other pairs in the area, but no clue given to where the nest is as yet. Buds are sprouting on the trees, so getting short I think.

Bryan Jones

I agree with the previous comments made by Liz.

Yesterday, Monday, I observed for about an hour at each of seven nests in the east of Radnorshire, I only saw three birds! Kites here appeared to be rarities, if, I did not know kites had nested in these areas last year I would not have spent time observing these locations

It did make me wonder if the nests are still active or has the harsh winter reduced numbers in this part of the principality? Only time will tell.

Moving some miles south west I did, however, have some success. I was able to locate a nest in an area where I saw birds last year but, was unable to locate the nest site. Having obtained the required permission the landowner informed me they had nested in that wood last year. A bonus for me is one of the pair is a tagged bird (not read).

News and no news

Followers of this blog who are not kite nest monitors might be wondering why there is a deafening silence at one of the most exciting times of the kiting year!
Well, everyone is busy trying to find the current nest locations which entails a lot of travelling about in the fringe areas and a lot of patient watching in the core Ceredigion area. I found 3 new nests this morning which looked as if they were built last year so that answers some questions about the kites that went 'missing' in 2010! Unfortunately for me the kites are still spending most of the day hunting or sitting in nearby trees and thus don't yield the secret of their nest site readily.
Kites sit in the body of the tree and being slim and long they easily blend with the branches whereas crows and buzzards mostly sit on prominent points. Any kite watcher will tell you how adept they are at suddenly appearing as if from nowhere and disappearing just as quickly! If you have only seen kites at the feeding stations then it is quite a different experience to watch their behaviour from your perch on the side of a hill especially in the sunshine we have had lately.

Dead kite Feb 26th

Yes, we have found a dead kite in a field just up the lane, too decomposed to send in for analysis and without ring or tag. I suspect it is one of our local pair as I've only seen one lately. Will this mean a new nest site? You bet!

Dead Kite

A Mr. David Evans from Forge, Machynlleth reported to me today that he had found a dead and badly decomposed kite on the hillside behind his house on Monday 28th February 2011. He has disposed of the dead bird. He said it was not fitted with a ring or tags.

Confused

On Thursday, 17th February, I again went to roost site near Painscastle, and came away with an opinion that confirms my view that you not second guess nature.

Expecting to see a dozen or so birds I once counted six in the air that drifted away to the north. These were eventually replaced by three single birds as the light was fading. One of these was the Black Black L3 as sighted the previous week.

Black L3 was hatched in 2008 as the youngest of three chicks, probably a male, near Bishops Castle, Shropshire. This being some forty six kilometres from the night roost. Black L3 has been seen twice previously, both by Tony Cross, in November, 2008 at Gigrin Farm Feeding Station.

Unlike my previous visit, the birds roosted in the wood I first suspected to be the roost site, not on the other side of the valley.

Patience = Result But With a Twist.

I have had an inkling for some time that there was a Red Kite roost site in my east Radnorshire patch but, when I went to check I failed to find positive proof. Two or three birds would be present in the area - these would always disappear before it got dark. On one occasion a single bird remained and spent the night in the wood.

Yesterday, 10th February, I went on a grey day with leaden skies and intermittent drizzle to observe the possible site. There were eight birds floating around perching for a short while on nearby hawthorn trees that before resuming to the wing, this enabled me to read two tags. Pink E2 (2009) hatched some 6 kilometres to the North West and Black L3 (2008) (details are in the post Confused) This is not a bird from one of the nest in my areas.

At about 4:230pm the intensity of the rain increased and the birds disappeared out of sight into the low cloud over the hill.

I returned to the location near Painscastle today where I was only to see birds intermittently. The birds from two known nests on the opposite side of the valley were showing but, there was little evidence to support my theory concerning a possible roost. The resident birds would drift towards and over their respective sections of woodland and return to the possible roost and beyond.

I was close to conceding defeat but, determined to prove or disprove my theory I remained as the skies darkened. It was now after 5:00pm, eleven Common Buzzard were in the air, these were joined by a single Red Kite, then another, then another. Then, I realised the numbers were not increasing as more and more Kites joined the party. The Buzzard numbers were reducing as the kite numbers increased! These raptors for a minute or two were engulfed by a flock of Jackdaw, the corvids went their own way down the valley.

There were ten red kite floating over the woodland surely they would soon drift down and find perches in the woodland. Twice a single kite went into the wood, perched and almost immediately came back out. Had I found the roost?

The ten kites were gliding around gradually gaining height above the wood. Then, one of the birds peeled away heading in my direction followed by another, then another. I had seen this situation many times in the Middle East as the European raptors rise from the overnight roosts in the mornings during their southerly migration to Africa.

I observed the birds drifting in Indian file across the valley and disappear into the wood occupied last year by one of the resident breeding pairs.

I had found the roost but, not where I expected it to be.