I went down to the syndicate, early this morning, in the hope of spotting a fish or two. As it turned out, I spent two hours chatting with Stuart, a new member, and George, the local gamekeeper, who I met not long after moving to Thanet over twenty years ago. We spoke about all sorts of subjects, birds, fish, general wildlife and the role of countryside management and field sports in the bigger picture. Obviously, we didn't agree on all subjects, that's the beauty of individual opinion, but we had to admit that we all shared a fair amount of common ground in our enjoyment of the outdoors. Probably the best piece of information I gleaned from our meeting was the presence of a population of decent sized roach in the fishery - all very interesting! There's certainly scope for a side project if this is confirmed.
Back home, by mid-morning, conditions looked good for some raptor movement. The gulls, away to the west, were very agitated for much of the day. All I managed, from the garden, was a couple of lone Common Buzzards (photos of the same individual) and can but guess at what was missed? It can't be too long before a Red Kite is recorded in Newlands airspace yet, being fully aware of what passed overhead during this same period last year, who knows what might turn up?
Dyl, Red Kites were once the most common raptor in Britain. Judging by the numbers now flying around where I live compared to just a couple of years back, I'd say they are getting that way again. As a kid, all I saw were Kestrels bar one memorable occasion where a Sparrowhawk swept across the playing field of my school in early 1973. That was rare for the London area back then.
ReplyDeleteNow I see 100 Kites for either of those two species.
What helps the Kites seems to be that they are quite happy to operate in the depths of the suburbs. Probably all the road kill and discarded Mac Burgers has something to do with it.
I remember seeing my first Red Kite whilst on holiday in Wales with my family in the early/mid 1960's. I remember how excited Dad was as he pulled the car off the road so we could get out to watch it soaring over the adjacent wooded hillside. In 2021 Sye has them nesting in a garden within 100m of his house in Aston Clinton, so how times have changed. Thanks to my friendships with several of the local farming families, I was told of a pair of (attempting?) breeding Kites on a pheasant shoot , but couldn't confirm any success although I did see the two adults. On Thanet they remain an annual passage migrant seen in both Spring and Autumn in numbers governed by the prevailing weather patterns. I only seen one, thus far this year, whilst I was pike fishing out on the marsh. Still; plenty of time to add them to my BWKm0 list for 2021? - Dyl
DeleteSorry Dyl, I missed your previous posting and the announcement of you finally retiring. The feeling that you're never going in to work again, will take a while to shake off, it'll seem strange. The major impact on you, will be the realisation that you are free to take advantage of perfect weather conditions, that every day is available to you. Good luck to you and Bev.
ReplyDeleteHi Derek. It might be better to state that I won't be going to "paid" work again. If I don't find something to occupy my time then I'm bloody sure Bev will! Thanks for your kind wishes - all the best - Dyl
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