Red Kites! From the garden!

 I looked out of the kitchen window this evening, and this was flying over! A Red Kite! Hardly able to control my excitement, I grabbed my camera and sprinted outside, managing to take a couple of pictures of my favourite British bird species before it disappeared behind the trees.

Red Kite, Hilfield

I changed my angle of viewing to look over the recently-ploughed field next to our garden. There were THREE Red Kites hunting low over it!

Red Kite, Hilfield

It really was one of the most beautiful sights I have been lucky enough to enjoy. For me, it is one of the world's most beautiful birds, with its fantastic gliding flight, magnificent long, thin wings, forked tail and something truly magical about its aura. One of the great things about nature is the way it can put you into an almost trance-like state, where all of life's difficulties feel infinitely far away. For me, watching these wonderful birds was like being in paradise. Truly incredible.

One bird flew low over the garden as we ate supper outside. A breathtaking spectacle, made even better as the bird proceeded to land in the woods. Sadly, I was unable to take a picture, as the bird was forced off by a crowd of mobbing passerines. 

There seems to have been a minor influx of this raptor into Britain in recent weeks- no-one seems too sure as to where they have come from, but they have brought great joy to many people. This species certainly seems to be on its way to returning as a common British bird, following near extinction in the late 20th Century- a remarkable collapse in numbers for a bird that abundant across Britain (even as an omnipresent scavenger in the middle of London). How superb it would for this bird to return to being a regular sight on these isles.