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Red Kite in flight


Red Kite in flight
Photo Information
Copyright: Pekka Valo (pekkavalo1) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 307 W: 21 N: 1202] (3793)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-04-08
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 40D, Sigma EX 500mm f4.5 APO HSM, RAW ISO 400, Kenko Teleplus Pro 300 DG 1.4x
Exposure: f/8, 1/640 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-04-16 2:16
Viewed: 539
Points: 46
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Red Kite shot at Aston Rowan National Nature Reserve in Oxfordshire.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just outside in northern Iran. It is a rare species which is resident in the milder parts of its range in western Europe and northwest Africa, but birds from northeastern and central Europe winter further south and west, reaching south to Turkey. Vagrants have reached north to Finland and south to Israel and Libya.

Physical characteristics and behaviour
The Red Kite is 60–66 cm long with a 175–195 cm wingspan; males have a weight of 800–1200 g, and females 1000–1300 g. It is an elegant bird, soaring with long wings held at a dihedral, and long forked tail twisting as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous. The white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondaries. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar, but juveniles have a buff breast and belly. The call is a thin piping, similar to but less mewling than Common Buzzard.
The species nests in trees, often close to other kites; in winter, many kites will roost together. In the spring the nests are obvious at the tops of trees. From a distance they look like rookeries, including the swirling pattern of the birds. From closer to, one can see that the birds are not rooks but kites because of the more slender wings.
At signs of danger a mother will signal the young who will "play dead" to the extent that a fox will believe them to be dead and leave them, thinking it can return to eat them later.

Differences between adults and juveniles
Adults differ from juveniles in a number of characteristics:
• Adults are overall more deeply rufous, compared with the more washed out colour of juveniles;
• Adults have black breast-streaks whereas on juveniles these are pale;
• Juveniles have a less deeply-forked tail, with a dark subterminal band;
• Juveniles have pale tips to all of the greater-coverts (secondary and primary) on both the upper- and under-wings, forming a long narrow pale line; adults have pale fringes to upperwing secondary-coverts only.
These differences hold throughout most of the first year of a bird's life.

Distribution
In the Middle Ages, Red Kites were much more widespread, their scavenging habits making them the refuse collectors of the day, but their numbers have much decreased through illegal persecution and poisoning. Rumours spread amongst the farming community that they were capable of killing sheep, as they were often found scavenging off animal carcasses. In reality, they will only take small live prey as well as carrion, and will rob other birds. Their scavenging nature makes them particularly vulnerable to accidental or deliberate illegal poisoning, where they scavenge the carcass of an animal that has been poisoned, and succumb to the poison themselves.

Europe
According to a report by the Welsh Kite Trust, the UK is the only country in which the Red Kite population is increasing. Red Kites are decreasing in their three strongholds of Spain, France and Germany, and population increases have stagnated in Sweden and Switzerland.

United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the breeding population eventually became restricted to a handful of pairs in Wales, but recently the Welsh population has been supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland. 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.

The reintroductions in The Chilterns have been a particular success, with a now well-established strong population across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. The Kites are a common sight above the houses of the Buckinghamshire villages of Stokenchurch and Haddenham and also the towns of Princes Risborough and as far east as Chesham, the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford and their surrounding areas. Sightings are common along the M40 between Oxford and Wycombe, all the way down to Reading and Newbury on the M4. In June 2006, the UK-based Northern Kites Project reported that kites have bred in the Derwent Valley in and around Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear for the first time since the re-introduction.

Ireland
Red Kites were extinct in Ireland by the middle nineteenth century, due to persecution, poisoning and woodland clearance. Some Scottish pairs did visit Ireland in the summers, but it was proposed by statisticians that only one pair had nested permanently. In May 2007, Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government Dick Roche announced an agreement to bring at least 100 birds from Wales to restock the population as part of a 5-year programme in the Wicklow Mountains, similar to the earlier Golden Eagle On the 19th July 2007 the first thirty red kites were released in Co. Wicklow. project.
inked, Juyona, goldyrs, jaycee, Hil, CeltickRanger, Adanac, gracious, Argus, Luis52, parthasarathi, Janice, NinaM, marhowie, Miss_Piggy has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To joey: Thank for your very nice commentpekkavalo1 1 04-16 14:05
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • inked Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 125 W: 0 N: 220] (654)
  • [2008-04-16 2:27]

hi Pekka,
awesome shot! great pov, and nicely focused! well done, it's a great capture!
Gethin

  • Great 
  • Juyona Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 2042 W: 6 N: 2025] (13277)
  • [2008-04-16 3:52]

Hola Pekka,
hermosa captura,
buen pov y foco...
detalles magníficos,
saludos

Hi Pekka
Nice action shot with good details and pose.
TFS
Ralf

Hello Pekka,

Wonderful composition, I like very much the way you framed the picture. Very good POV and focus. Nice natural colours.
Cheers,
Mariki

Some very beautiful, fine details of this majestic bird captured, Pekka.
This is an awesome shot...
Goldy

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1788 W: 8 N: 4639] (15001)
  • [2008-04-16 9:04]

Hi Pekka,

Nice in-flight shot of this majestic looking Kite. You captured him in a good position with a good view of his face and eye as well as the wings.

Jane

Hi Pekka

Lovely spread of wings shows off this birds natural beauty to the full. Top marks as usual sir.

Jai

  • Great 
  • Hil Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 744 W: 11 N: 1408] (4839)
  • [2008-04-16 11:35]

Hi Pekka

Lovely in-flight capture of the Red Kite,
Superb pose and POV.
Very nice details
Good light and beautiful colours.

Hil

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1696 W: 242 N: 5596] (19883)
  • [2008-04-16 13:23]
  • [+]

Hi Pekka!
What a fine image of this Red Kite!
I see this was taken in Aston Rowant... that's not far from me... do you live nearby?
Fantastic sharpness and excellent clarity.
Very nice lighting and exposure.
Brilliant colour rendition.
Nice BG too.
Really good work!!
Well done!

Joe

hello Pekka

superb in-flight shot of the Red Kite, fine POV and framing,
i love that POV showing the Bird of Prey's underpart plumage,
sharpness and details are great, TFS

Asbed

Hello Pekka,
Very fine and beautiful shot of the Red Kite in flight!
good choice on the pov captured to view the front side of the Kite!
the image is sharp with good colour and superb details
you had done a wonderful job here
best regards
Tony

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2613 W: 133 N: 7504] (23403)
  • [2008-04-17 5:24]

Hello Pekka,
This is a great in-flight of a Red Kite from a nice low POV. Excellent sharpness, lighting and composition against a blue sky too.
I guess this kite has Swedish ancestors! :))
Thanks for sharingthis beauty,
Regards, Ivan

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1022 W: 5 N: 2802] (10144)
  • [2008-04-17 7:01]

Hola Pekka.
You have here a beautiful photo. Nice and sharp, very well focus and You pick a excellent frame, to present this Red Kite.
Your note is very interesting to read Pekka.
Saludos My friend.
Luis52.

Nice action shot with good details.

Hi Pekka,
Very nice in-flight shot. Great lighting and details.
TFS
Wei

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1049 W: 1 N: 4160] (13980)
  • [2008-04-17 20:25]

Hello Pekka,
Excellent inflight image of this beautiful species. Great details and colors in this fine composition. Thank you for sharing Pekka.
Rick

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3452 W: 144 N: 5902] (17486)
  • [2008-04-18 3:00]

This is a really great shot of the Red Kite in flight. Well composed with great details and I love the colours of this bird - well done
Janice

  • Great 
  • NinaM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 566 W: 0 N: 1388] (4593)
  • [2008-04-18 13:06]

Wow, Pekka, I don't know what kind of bird is a kite but it is absolutely beautiful! You captured it so well, with all the different tones of colours and beautiful details. Thank you!

Francine

Very good job on this inflight Pekka, a well managed exposure and a great POV.
Good detail, color, and composition also.
Excellent notes to go along with this beautiful bird of prey..
Well done & have a nice weekend,
Howard

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2008-04-18 21:02]

Hello Pekka

A wonderful capture of this red kite in flight.
The pose is super with excellent detail and focus.
The POV is incredible.
Lovely lighting and colours.
Nicely composed in the frame.
Great job.
TFS

Rob

Hello Pekka , perfect flight photo , i like eye-contact with you , TFS and good luck .

Hallo Pekka
As I said too many fellow Trek Nature members: This is a scene I would like to capture one day. An in flight action shot. This is a stunning image, with a delightful view. I really admire the photographers who take these kinds of photos and present something as beautiful as this one of yours. This bird surely has a very impressive and colourful wingspan. What amazes me the most is the clarity and the detail of the face, especially the light coloured eyes and yellow beak. A most pleasing, sight. Thanks for sharing photo and most interesting note. I found it very educational.
Kind regards from a very cold and wet South Africa
Anna

Hi Pekka, superb bird in splendid fly, good focus, great colors, fine details and excellent sharpness, very well done, ciao Silvio

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