taking a dive

It's been a long drive into Wales today. On my way to stay near the ferry for Skomer Island I called into Gigrin Farm, which is famous if you are a red kite. It became an Official Red Kite Feeding Station in the winter 1992/93 following a request from the RSPB. Red Kites had become almost extinct in the UK and initiatives like this, along with reintroduction programmes have made them almost common again now. Feeding here is a frenzy there are between 300 -600 birds every day gather in the sky. The same bird doesn't visit the following day and it is believed everyone of them is native to Wales, with testing of sample birds showing that they all trace back to a single Welsh female red kite !


It is quite a sight and hides are popular with tourists watching spectacle. Kites fly above in waves of seniority they circle and watch and wait their chance to furl their wings and dive in, skimming the ground to snatch a scrap before rising again suddenly eating their chunk of meat whilst on the wing.


The next couple of days will also be birding days as having failed in the past to land on Skomer Island due to rough seas the forecast is looking good.