This weekend I decided to try to get a proper photo of a Red Kite. This is the first time that I have gone out with a specific bird in mind.
I've seen many Kites at a particular location near Mortimer in Berkshire, so we headed over there on Saturday afternoon. Although the thought of tramping through the countryside did not appeal to my wife, she decided to come along anyway.
The afternoon was one of those glorious days that we should have had in July or August - very little breeze, and a few clouds drifting about. I stopped about half a mile before our destination just to have a look around. I could see the woods that we were headed to, and there weren't any kites overhead. Usually there are at least 10 circling over it.
As I leant on a gate I spotted a bird at the far side of the field that we were parked at. A quick look through the binocculars confirmed that we had a Red Kite in sight. My wife put her sudoku to one side and had a look through the bins. "That's very colourful"...
We set off across the field with camera and binocculars and spent the most pleasant hour enjoying the late summer warmth.
The kite then decided to sit in a tree for a while. The tree was a long way away, so we had a little walk.
He was still quite far away as you can see in this shot, which was taken at 250mm full frame quuivalent:-
Before we left, someone from the local flying club kindly showed their appreciation for our efforts.
