Just got a brand new pair of binoculars and was trying them out in the garden yesterday evening. Spotted a Red Kite flying over the house in Haywards Heath being mobbed by three Crows. Anyone out there know if this is an unusual sighting or do they frequently pass over the South East from the Continent?
Hi Ali
They are not coming from the Continent (as far as I know) because they are resident in the UK. Since their reintroduction in the Chilterns (and other areas) they have been spreading. They are now being seen all over the place. A real success story. I live in the Thames Valley and they are a daily sighting for me. Maybe one day you will get them flying above your house like this. Keep looking.
Welcome to the forum by the way.
TJ
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Hi there,
They are resident and spreading, as TJ says, but migrant Red Kites do also come here from the continent in varying numbers during spring. This spring has seen quite a substantial influx. I saw one fly in off the sea at Seaford Head a couple of weeks ago, and the following day at least three were seen heading inland at Dungeness in Kent.
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That's interesting, aiki. I didn't know that, which is why I qualified my remarks "as far as I know". They've obviously heard about how good it is over here. Do they migrate back again in the autumn?
Many thanks both of you for your replies and the beautiful photo! I have never seen Red Kites in the UK before. I saw them this year near Huelva in Spain when I visited the Donana National Park a couple of weeks ago, so you can imagine my surprise to see one flying over Haywards Heath - at first I thought it must have been a Buzzard but the deeply forked tail gave it away. What a beautiful bird of prey.
Ali
Hi Ali,
apparently we have a resident red kite somewhere in the village where i live near horsham. We and other locals see it two or three times a week and we have seen it a few times flying overhead.
Awesome to think they are spreading this way :)
Sarah
We have some friends in Storrington and whenever we visit them we usually see Red Kites over the village and also if we go for a walk on the Downs.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
That's amazing to think that they are in Horsham and Storrington! Thank you for your replies. We drive through Storrington quite frequently and walk on the Downs with the dog, so will keep my eyes peeled in future. I feel immensely privileged to have seen it. It really made my day!
Hi,
Its lovely to see that Red Kites are increasing, they are obviously doing really well.
Regards
WP
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books. - John Lubbock
Unknown said: That's amazing to think that they are in Horsham and Storrington! Thank you for your replies. We drive through Storrington quite frequently and walk on the Downs with the dog, so will keep my eyes peeled in future. I feel immensely privileged to have seen it. It really made my day! Ali
Ali,during the summer months keep an eye out for Hobby on the edge of the Downs they seem to like it there
I have seen a Red Kite on two occasions now at Pyecombe Golf Club on the South Downs near Jack and Jill.