Any harriers currently in Wilts?

I was going to suggest Jump Jet if you were near the museum

In reply to PimperneBloke:

PimperneBloke said:

Jump Jet

Nope. Failed the (quasi) vertical take off test PB.

In reply to Dave - CH:

Just passed a Harrier this afternoon P B it is the gate guard at R A F Boulmer veteran plane of the Falklands I think

Pete

Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

In reply to Seaman:

Wendy S said:

Just passed a Harrier this afternoon P B

I'm guessing that it's Palid, Pete, given the sunshine and the mild weather the UK is experiencing. 

Dave 

In reply to Dave - CH:

It was a pale. silver colour, would that count

Pete

Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

In reply to Seaman:

Wendy S said:

would that count

It's enough for me Pete.

Dave Red Kites have done well in the UK since several reintroduction schemes late1990's early 2000's. I have been following and recording our birds in this part of N Yorkshire and despite illegal persecution from some of the game bird industry the numbers are quite remarkable. The general public non birders have taken them to heart probably because they are easy to i d.

Pete

Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

In reply to Seaman:

Wendy S said:

Red Kites have done well in the UK

Glad to hear that Pete. To my mind there's almost no bird that's better to see when the wind's up, and they appear to pretty much rule the sky.

Dave 

In reply to Dave - CH:

Agree Dave although the Kestrel ruled the roost until recently, the old gamekeepers I knew called them Wind Windhovers'

Pete

Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can

In reply to Seaman:

Wendy S said:

the old gamekeepers I knew called them Wind Windhovers

That's one of the names used in Walpole-Bond's Bird Life in Wild Wales (1904, I think), which I've been reading on an off for a few years now. A tremendous writer. His obituary is out there on the Internet somewhere and is well worth a read.

He also gives us "forked-tailed kite" (he was writing before eradication and reintroduction), and---of course---yaffle.

The region where we live was home to a famous dynasty of artists, several of whom painted wildlife extensively. Last year we came across some early twentieth century publications in a second-hand shop. In French too the names of birds have changed over the years, the various waggies being an interesting example.

I share your admiration of kestrels Pete, but personally my heart soars every time I see a Red Kite grab a wing-full of air, in that reaching gesture they make occasionally. And I forget that I have to take the rubbish out and call the tax and...

But talking of winds, perhaps there's a (smaller) bird that outdoes Red Kites and kestrels? The Crag Martin. Less flight. More teleportation. I first noticed them at Ventas, north of Malaga, some years ago, and almost couldn't believe what they are capable of in the wind. Stunt Birds, flying on wires.