Thanks June, acting on your latest info, I report as follows....
Made the short trip to Sherburn Towers Farm this afternoon to look out for the roosting Red Kites. When I arrived at 3.30pm, straight away I could see 4 Kites above the trees left and right, and from then until I left at 4.15pm a constant stream of between 2 and 8 birds were in vision in excellent light, mostly appearing as specks in the distance from the direction of Barlow but growing ever closer eventually giving excellent views as they circled slowly low above the farmland, calling occasionally before disappearing into the trees. Difficult to put a number on how many individuals I saw but must have been in excess of twenty. A few birds were in a distant field, one just standing motionless for ages, others appearing in flight just above the ground from beyond where the land dips out of sight.
Star of the show though was an adult Common Buzzard, I first noticed it soaring in the distance with a group of Kites, it gave a great display of laboured hovering in the middle distance, soared with the Kites over the near field but then came closest of all when the local corvids took a dislike to it (strange but not a single Kite was mobbed all the time I was there). 2 Crows and 3 Jackdaws chased it right over to where I was standing, then veered off left. Circling round again it passed me in the opposite direction this time with 9 corvids in attendance. Wings beating faster now as it was being harried from all directions, next time it passed me it had picked up a stream of 17 mobbers from the surrounding fields and this time it didn’t return, it flew off into the distance and I counted no less than 33 pursuers. The whole incident was straight out of Benny Hill, all that was missing was the music.
The whole time I was there, a number of Jays were flying to and fro, bills full of goods to stash away for the winter in a frenzy of activity for that particular species, and with some finch flocks building up a return with a ‘scope is warranted methinks.
Things quietened down at about 4.15pm and I suddenly had the image of my better half now gasping for a cup of tea, as I’d left the house on the pretext of popping down to Tescos for milk, but took my bins ’just in case’. A last look as I walked off and another 3 Kites had appeared. Got my provisions and walked back home via the same route. This time, at 4.55pm, not a single Kite was showing, so off I went for a well deserved cuppa.
All in all this was probably the best prolonged view of good numbers of Kites I’ve ever had and the Buzzard (not for the first time this year) was a great bonus. Though its always a bit of pot luck when looking for the Kites I hope this gives an idea of timing for better chance of good sightings, if you can get as good a forty five minutes as I had today I would recommend the Sherburn Towers roost to anyone. Thanks June. :flyaway:
(Also added to Your Local Patch: Gateshead Birders thread)
