Red Kites in Norfolk (1 Viewer)

[Connor Rand]

An interesting arrival of Red Kites in the last few days in Norfolk, with birds seen at Shenbourne, Sparham, Great Ryburgh and near Thetford. The one at Shernbourne didn't have a wing-tag (see pics at www.ruralchill.blogspot.com) and the one near Thetford, although distant, didn't appear to either. Unlike last winter no wintering birds have been reported in the country. I have heard some Red Kites being released in mid-England are now not being fitted with wing-tags. Is this true? Even so, does the nature of the arrival (an obvious influx) indicate that these birds are most likely continental migrants, and, if so, isn't such an arrival rather early? Comments much appreciated (if any observers of the other birds listed are reading did you note any wing-tags?)

 

[firefox32]

Hi Connor.

The Red Kite I saw at Sparham this morning had no wing tag.

Regards.
John.

 

[Ilya Maclean]

Hi Connor.

I'm not sure it's too easy to tell. It does seem a bit early, but the weather was right. Early continental Kite influxes do seem to be associated with very mild weather, high pressure over the continent and a fairly light westerly or SW airflow facilitating movement from SW Europe to Scandinavia. Attached are weather maps from yesterday and from the classic 18 Mar 88 influx (See Birds of Norfolk, p46). Not too disimilar, although I find it hard to interpret the influence of the high pressure over the east of the UK in '88.

That said, I suspect mild conditions also trigger within-UK movements. Were any of the birds in Norfolk yesterday wing-tagged?

Cheers

Ilya

Edit: realised I loaded the wrong synoptic chart earlier. Have corrected, but doesn't really change point I was making...

 

[Nigel Davies]

Hi Connor
Red kite in the Downham Market area last Monday and Tuesday

Nigel

 

[StuartReeves]

Four or five birds were seen in Suffolk on February 8, including one that flew right over my house and was then tracked into the Waveney valley, where it opted not to cross into Norfolk, but headed west instead. A few buzzards also seemed to be on the move that day, leading to speculation that we were witnessing a raptor influx as a result of cold weather on the continent. Curiously, there has only been one record of Red Kite in Suffolk since then (see: http://www.freewebs.com/suffolkbirding/february2009.htm). Maybe they have all ended up in Norfolk?

Stuart

 

[Connor Rand]

That said, I suspect mild conditions also trigger within-UK movements. Were any of the birds in Norfolk yesterday wing-tagged?

Thanks for your comments John, Ilya, Nigel and Stuart.

Without tags:- Shernbourne, Sparham and 'near Thetford' (although it was distant)

The Great Ryburgh one was perhaps too distant to tell? But would be worth asking if anyone knows the finder (John?)

Did the Downham Market one appear to have tags Nigel or was it too distant to tell?

One thing that I did consider having written this is that the Ryburgh and Sparham birds could be the same, but regardless of any duplication certainly an obvious 'arrival'.

Interesting to hear events in Suffolk Stuart - have there been any similar suspected cold-weather movements for large raptors? I can't find any corresponding arrivals in southern (or at least south-eastern counties over the last few days which I would have expected if these birds were migrants, although it does coincide nicely with the first push of Spring migrants...

 

[StuartReeves]

Interesting to hear events in Suffolk Stuart - have there been any similar suspected cold-weather movements for large raptors? I can't find any corresponding arrivals in southern (or at least south-eastern counties over the last few days which I would have expected if these birds were migrants, although it does coincide nicely with the first push of Spring migrants...

I'm not aware of any cold-weather movements of raptors in that way, and it was early for the more routine passage of Buzzards, and, to a lesser extent, Red Kites, which is more of a mid-late March phenomenon. It was really just speculation based on an apparent arrival of birds at coastal sites coinciding with a cold snap on the continent.

 

[firefox32]

The Ryburgh bird was fairly distant Connor. Though my friend is pretty convinced it didn't have a tag, he couldn't be certain.

John.

 

[Brian Stone]

An interesting arrival of Red Kites in the last few days in Norfolk, with birds seen at Shenbourne, Sparham, Great Ryburgh and near Thetford. The one at Shernbourne didn't have a wing-tag (see pics at www.ruralchill.blogspot.com) and the one near Thetford, although distant, didn't appear to either. Unlike last winter no wintering birds have been reported in the country. I have heard some Red Kites being released in mid-England are now not being fitted with wing-tags. Is this true? Even so, does the nature of the arrival (an obvious influx) indicate that these birds are most likely continental migrants, and, if so, isn't such an arrival rather early? Comments much appreciated (if any observers of the other birds listed are reading did you note any wing-tags?)

There are plenty of birds in Rockingham Forest and Chilterns without tags. None of those I saw in the Oxford area today had tags and perhaps half of the birds I see local to me have no tags.

 

[Dave Appleton]

With backing cast of White Stork, who can doubt they're continental?

Yesterday's Shernborne bird (more photos on my website) was a first-winter - were any of the others aged? Not that age would help us work out where they come from necessarily, but would be interesting to know. Can't say I've paid a lot of attention to the age of spring migrant Red Kites in Norfolk before but at least one 'classic' bird (moving west along the coast in early spring) appeared to be an adult.

 

[mr.sim]

Didn't realise its relavence at the time but I had a Red Kite near Oundle in Cambridgshire. This could be a resident bird but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
As for the bird in the Downham Market area on Monday/Tuesday I don't think it had a wing tag as Nigel would have mentioned it to me...
Certainly a few birds knocking around though!

 

[Connor Rand]

Some useful comments and questions appearing/being posed on the Norfolk thread as a follow-up, largely leading from the questions posed above, so thanks for your contributions everyone.

 

[Brian Stone]

Didn't realise its relavence at the time but I had a Red Kite near Oundle in Cambridgshire. This could be a resident bird but I thought I'd mention it anyway.
As for the bird in the Downham Market area on Monday/Tuesday I don't think it had a wing tag as Nigel would have mentioned it to me...
Certainly a few birds knocking around though!

Oundle is in Northants (but the Cambs border isn't very far away). Red Kites (of the reintroduced Rockingham Forest population) are numerous here.