Blue Skies Red Kites

A couple of times a year I have to visit our office in Berkshire which although a bit of a trek from Yorkshire does mean I can meander on my way there or back and stop off on the Downs to watch the red kites.

This is where I first began to notice the kites after their re-introduction and they always captured my imagination effortlessly soaring on the thermals over the countryside. Being able to spend a couple of hours watching and photographing them is always an amazing experience.

On this particular occasion a farmer was mowing a field and this had attracted the attention of at least a dozen kites who were on the lookout for anything disturbed by the tractor. It also meant they were very close to the roadside making photography so much easier.

They were so intent on looking for prey they weren't bothered by my presence in the slightest and flew close and low.

I dread to think how much time I would spend watching these majestic bird if I still lived on their doorstep!!