Ellie and I headed off fairly early, leaving home at 9am, and set off to Wales and a visit to the Red Kite Feeding Station at Gigrin Farm, just outside Rhayader in Powys.
After making good time, disaster struck as we left the M4 at Newport as we had a tyre blowout on the car. Luckily, I'm a member of the AA and within 30 minutes a recovery truck had arrived and it took us in to Newport where we had a new tyre fitted. After forking out £70 and being delayed by a total of ninety minutes we were back on the road and headed straight to Rhayader.
Fortunately, we arrived a few minutes before 2pm, the time when the kites were fed. We got out of the car and rugged up warm and waited when suddenly, as if from nowhere, birds started filling the skies.
Over the next 30 minutes or so we must have seen getting on for 300 Red Kites, several Buzzards, over 20 Ravens, and a couple of Sparrowhawks. However, the highlight, was a juvenile Black Kite which showed really well, and enabled us to get great views of the differences in the plumage features between this and the Red Kites.
After making good time, disaster struck as we left the M4 at Newport as we had a tyre blowout on the car. Luckily, I'm a member of the AA and within 30 minutes a recovery truck had arrived and it took us in to Newport where we had a new tyre fitted. After forking out £70 and being delayed by a total of ninety minutes we were back on the road and headed straight to Rhayader.
Fortunately, we arrived a few minutes before 2pm, the time when the kites were fed. We got out of the car and rugged up warm and waited when suddenly, as if from nowhere, birds started filling the skies.
Over the next 30 minutes or so we must have seen getting on for 300 Red Kites, several Buzzards, over 20 Ravens, and a couple of Sparrowhawks. However, the highlight, was a juvenile Black Kite which showed really well, and enabled us to get great views of the differences in the plumage features between this and the Red Kites.
We left Rhayader at about 3pm, and as it had already been a fairly long day headed straight on home. It was a round trip of nearly 300 miles, but a wonderful spectacle and a UK tick in Black Kite.
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