Wildlife Village 27th July 2011

July 27, 2011 in Wildlife Village by Jan

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Good morning villagers.

At 4 p.m. this afternoon we will witness the release of the three Bald Eagle chicks from New Hampshire. God bless them and wish them a safe journey through their lives. We will also be having a group hug across the village at this time. The following is the link to the web cam where we can all see the event. Please have your tissues ready, it will be a very emotional time. It will be a day I will never forget. xxx

http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html

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One of my favourite birds that I am lucky enough to see around here regularly. Quite spectacular to watch. They are so effortless in flight but are also extremely versatile when they need to be . David takes numerous pictures of them in Dumfries and Galloway at the feeding station for the RSPB. I know some of you do not like the wing tags (I dont like them either) but they supply invaluable information. For example last November he took a photo of two together in a tree, it turned out one was the first Red Kite tagged in 2010 – in Northern Scotland from Black Isle and the other was a three year old from Chilterns in Buckinghamshire, there they both were sat together in the tree in Dumfries and Galloway. There was great excitement and the RSPB issued a press release as it illustrated one of the benefits of Tagging Birds.

THE RED KITE (Milvus milvus)


Look closely they are both upside down

 

The following information was taken from Wikipedia

In the United Kingdom Red Kites were once so common that William Shakespeare described London as ” a city of Red Kites and Crows”. As ubiquitous scavengers they lived on carrion and garbage, giving rise to their common name in Elizabethan England – Shitehawk. Shakespeare’s King Lear describes his daughter Goneril as a detested kite, and he also wrote “when the kite builds, look to your lesser linen” in reference to them stealing washing that was hung out to dry during the nesting season. In the mid 15th century King James II of Scotland decreed that they should be “killed wherever possible”, but they remained protected in England and Wales for the next 100 years as they kept the streets free of carrion and rotting food. Under Tudor “vermin laws” many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses.

 

 


 

 

 

 

By the 20th century the breeding population had become restricted to a handful of pairs in Wales, but recently the Welsh population has been supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland. In 2004, from 375 occupied territories identified at least 216 pairs were thought to have hatched eggs and 200 pairs reared at least 286 young. In 1989 six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and one Welsh bird in Buckinghamshire. Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish and Spanish origin were released at each of the sites. In the second stage of reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, further birds were brought over from Germany to populate the areas of Dumfries and Galloway, and the Derwent Valley in North East England. In Northern Ireland four pairs were released and in 2010 the first reproduction was recorded. The reintroductions in The Chilterns have been a particular success. Between 1989 and 1993 90 birds were released in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and by 2002, 139 pairs were breeding in the area. A sighting of the first Red Kite to be seen in London for 150 years was reported in The Independent newspaper in January 2006 and in June of that year, the UK-based Northern Kites Project reported that kites had bred in the Derwent Valley in and around Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear for the first time since the re-introduction.

In 1999 the Red Kite was named ‘Bird of the Century’ by the British Trust for Ornithology.

In June 2010 the Forestry Commission North West England announced a three-year project that will see 90 Red Kites released in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria under a special licence issued by Natural England. The Grizedale programme will be the ninth reintroduction of Red Kites into different regions of the UK, and the final re-introduction phase in England.

The stated aims of the Grizedale project are:

  • To establish a viable population of Red Kites in Grizedale, South Cumbria by 2015.
  • To increase the rate of Red Kite expansion into North West England and link up with existing populations in Wales, Yorkshire, North East England and South West Scotland and so increase the chances of a continuous geographical range.*To develop community involvement and create educational opportunities arising from the project.

Feeding on the Wing

 

As well as the link on the right of the page for Red Kites, This one from Gigrin Farm feeding station has so much information on the Red Kite :

 

http://www.gigrin.co.uk/redkite.html

 

Here there are some beautiful videos of Red Kites and also includes one of an Osprey seeing off a Red Kite at Rutland Water:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Red_Kite

 

 

NESTCAP FOR TUESDAY 26TH JULY 2011

08.07 – Lady arrives on the nest shouting

08.09 – Laird flies in, they mate and then he is off

08.45 – HD camera is on at LOTL, and Lady’s busy doing her housework!

08.56 – Lady moving lots of sticks around the nest!

10.32 – Mated – what energy they have lol

10.58 – Lady still sitting on the nest shouting occasionally

13.39 – Both return to the nest, Isla seems very fractious and the Laird is mantling.. Lair to the far left of the nest only his tail showing and he is doing a lot of wing flapping… all of a sudden he flies off towards the boingy tree.. Then Isla still on the nest looking out towards the hides.. she is now calmer and preening… but still so alert

13.49 – Fish delivery, Lady literally snatches it and flies off, Laird checks he still has two feet! Then he flies off as well

14.49 – Both Isla and the Laird return to the nest,, Isla first, quickly followed by our boy,, and mating again,,, The Laird flies off,,, Isla remains sitting quietly,,,

15.20 – Beautiful close up on the nest – what a magnificent bird she is (although, of course, we all know that!) and looking so majestic

16.00 – Laird flies in and Mating again,,,

16.13 – Lady on the edge of her nest (Right Side) and doing her usual stint………Shouting at the top of voice lol

16.23 – …………………And still shouting

17.10 – Lady still on the edge of the nest and being very quiet for a change

17.16 – Must be the warm weather – mated again!!

07.30 – Night Cam on

18.43 – Lady sitting in the nest now shouting. She is looking into the camera every now and then, as much to say “are you all going to tell him to get me my fish………………..now!!!!

18.49 – Does Lady ever get hoarse?

22.15 – Lady shouting on the nest. One Y frog leg visible tonight!

 


HAD TO WAIT TIL JAN WENT TO BED TO DO THIS. Happy birthday to you from us all
http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=2951918265167&source=jl999

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The Dyfi Osprey Project and the Scottish wildlife Trust  have kindly given their permission for us to post still and video images from their webcams. To visit their sites please click on the relevant link.    Loch of the Lowes.  Dyfi Osprey Project.


 


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