Unbelievable red kite on South Coast!!!!

[wildherbalian85]

100% positive I.D of Red Kite over farm land in East Marden

At first i thought it was a Kestrel or Sparrow hawk but the kestrel bit was dismissed after observation of the bird, then i dismissed the sparrow hawk also on the behavior of the bird also by that point it was closer to me and i could see it's wing span was approx 1m. By now i had come to the conclusion it was probably a red kite, my reason for this were:

• it's colour was brick red/ brown, hard to tell as sun was shining
• it had a straight tail like that of a red kit
• for the 5 minutes i was watching it i only saw it flap it's wings once, the rest of the time it just spent gliding
• it had black marking on the under side of its wings with a little bit of white - but then again so do buzzards

The area that it was in is probably perfect for a kite, hill's and valleys with mixture of forest and farm land.

[demicav]

A wonderful sighting. I always remember a while back, one flew over the car just as I put my head down. Hubby saw it, I missed it but I intend to see one someday even if it means a trip to Gigrin farm.

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by demicav

A wonderful sighting. I always remember a while back, one flew over the car just as I put my head down. Hubby saw it, I missed it but I intend to see one someday even if it means a trip to Gigrin farm.

It was just the way it would glide so effortlessly for so long

[baggy2508]

Hi.
There are a few Red Kite near Goodwood racecourse.
Regards Baggy2508

[Cheryl]

Lucky you to see one Baggy. They've been spotted around here from the M3 near Basingstoke apparently, and I keep looking out for them but no joy
yet.

I've only ever seen one once and that was in Wales

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by baggy2508

Hi.
There are a few Red Kite near Goodwood racecourse.
Regards Baggy2508

I might be wrong here but Goodwood is pretty close to East Marden, isn't it??

Edit: Indeed it is, approx 5 miles.

[wildherbalian85]

I have dug up this old old thread to save me doing a new one

Today whilst at East Marden i spotted and heard the Red Kite and was also speaking to some local Game Keeper/ Farmer who said that there is definitely a Red Kite in the area... and this was before i had even mentioned the word Kite

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by wildherbalian85

I have dug up this old old thread to save me doing a new one

Today whilst at East Marden i spotted and heard the Red Kite and was also speaking to some local Game Keeper/ Farmer who said that there is definitely a Red Kite in the area... and this was before i had even mentioned the word Kite

Hi Wildherbalian (Wot a name!)

There are several pairs of Red Kite breeding in West Sussex now - spread most likely from the Chilterns. I first saw one in the area you mention about 5 years ago. Have seen them regularly in the past few years over woodlands near Chichester where they breed (not the Goodwood ones).

(Saw 14 on the way back from Oxfordshire on Wednesday!)

[wildherbalian85]

Originally Posted by Picidae

Hi Wildherbalian (Wot a name!)

There are several pairs of Red Kite breeding in West Sussex now - spread most likely from the Chilterns. I first saw one in the area you mention about 5 years ago. Have seen them regularly in the past few years over woodlands near Chichester where they breed (not the Goodwood ones).

(Saw 14 on the way back from Oxfordshire on Wednesday!)

it is quite a long name i must admit

In the area that i have seen this kit there are also alot of buzzards... i find it hard some times to tell them apart when they are all gliding high in the sky, when the kite lowers though you can often see its tail.... the buzzards tend to make quite a racket too.

I have been meaning to visit East Dean for a while now, i believe this is somewhat closer to goodwood is it not? Anyway if i do get round to visiting this area soon i will be keeping a look out for BoP and especially Kites

[Treehawk]

I have seen at least 30 in one day (no kidding). I was taken by a member of the RSPB to this "Secret" place (no idea where I was anyway) and I saw them just before they roosted.