Red Kites - Raptors in Wales

[the dragonn]

I took a trip to central Wales last week to see Red Kites. These raptors were almost extinct in Britain 40 years ago,(due to persecution) with only 10 pairs remaining in Wales. Today however they are thriving with several re-introductions in England and Scotland. The native welsh birds are also doing well as you can see. These pics were taken at a feeding station called Gigrin.

[Orchidzrule]

Oh, my, that last photo is especially impressive. Seeing so many raptors--of any species--together at once is almost unbelievable. I particularly like the wing patterns.

Cheers,
Rob

[mycologist]

Fantastic shots - the birds are incredible.

[Lambert]

Your pictures are fantastic, what a beautiful raptor! WOW

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Steve, those are amazing! I love the shot of the raptor looking down at you in photo three. I have never seen anything like the swarm of them in photo four either. What a majestic and impressive animal. Fantastic! Thank you.

Cheers,
BD

[Cjcorner]

Okay, that makes my summer gathering of Dragonflies and Damselflies look almost paltry!! lol Wow! Thanks those are great pictures!

[Piper]

Wonderful shots, Steve! Red kites are the prettiest of all raptors, in my humble opinion.

An interesting raptor factoid:

When kites the toy flown on a string were invented in the 1800's, they were so named because their darting and swerving in the air resembled the aerial maneuvers of the raptor kites.

McJulie

[pavel]

Excellant shots, Steve!

[ang709]

Wow! Thank you for sharing. Those are great shots.

[walingwaling]

wow, superb!

its nice to see em coming back, where they should belong!