STEVE ASHTON'S WILDLIFE GALLERY

October 2008

The Chiltern Red Kites.

A lack of work just lately, meant more free time on my hands, so a trip to Christmas Common off of junction 5 on the M.40, was decided, to try and get some photos of the Chiltern Red Kites. It was just before 6 o clock this morning, that Gadget, with Dylan riding shotgun, (there’s no Punch without Judy), pulled up outside of my house, and transferred there equipment into my car, leaving Sturry, with my neighbours cautiously peering through there drawn curtains, trying to establish the cause of all the early morning commotion. An uneventful trip with no traffic hold-ups, and we were all seated having breakfast at a transport Café that I had found, at 9 o clock. It was only a couple of miles further to our destination, and a bright sunny morning greeted us, but noticeably chilly, as we left the car and walked onto the common, immediately flushing a Common Buzzard from a tree. It was not long before we had 6 or 7 Common Buzzards up in the air together, one being a smart looking light phased individual. Then it was the turn of the Red Kites to make there appearance, with a few distant sightings, soon changing to birds appearing from every where, giving the three of us plenty of photo opportunities, although I missed the Buzzards, as they never seemed to come in as close as the Kites. At least 3 Sparrow Hawks were seen, 3 Kestrels, and a Hobby made up the Raptor list for the day. Variety, in the shape of Meadow Pipits, Chaffinches, Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits were periodically noted, throughout our stay on the Common, but the day was really about the Red Kites. It was hard to say how many we saw throughout the day, at least 50, but I would think that over 100 would probably be a nearer estimate. I did note also, that with all this action going on, Dylan did get side tracked and wandered of to investigate a few Gulls sitting in a far off field, mumbling something about coloured rings, leaving Gadget and I to carry on photographing the Kites. One Adult landed in a tree about 30 metres from us, showing well in the afternoon sunlight. We left at 2.30 p m, and a clear run back, enabled us to call in at Oare Marshes, arriving at 4.30 pm, and immediately found a Little Stint, feeding close to the road, and another Little Stint was seen on one of the islands. This gave us an excuse to get the cameras out once again, staying for 45 minutes, before leaving for home. A great day out, with great company, and managing all of our target species, but being that we only had Red Kite as our target, and a trip to Junction 5 on the M40, that was not surprising.