So I finally got some free time to go out with the camera when were were off in Mid Wales over Easter (while my daughter volunteered on a farm to help with lambing, as she wants to train as a Vet, and to get on the course you need to have relevant work experience).
Looking for places to visit in the vicinity, I found Gigrin farm (https://gigrin.co.uk/), which does daily Red Kite feeding.
I have to say, if you are interested in seeing Red Kites, it's absolutely amazing - huge numbers of them, and they are there for well over an hour, so lots of opportunities for shots.
They have a few general hides (£10 admission), but I opted for the cheapest of the photographic hides, the Gateway Hide (£28) - which can have up to 3 in it, but I was the only one the time I was there (there would be plenty of space even with 3 people with tripods). If the weather was good, I'd suggest the Tower or Big Tower might be even better, as the half-roof would mean you could track birds further as they flew from the field over the hide.
Basically, at 3pm a tractor pulled into the field, stopped at the edge, and one of the people from the farm grabbed his shovel and threw a few shovel loads of diced beef out over the field (he repeated this several times over about an hour, changing positions as he went).
Then the fun began, as the Kites descended.
RedKites-1 by Jonathan, on Flickr
RedKites-3 by Jonathan, on Flickr
This is a rare leucistic Red Kite
RedKites-5 by Jonathan, on Flickr
Flying off with his prize of some beef
RedKites-7 by Jonathan, on Flickr
RedKites-6 by Jonathan, on Flickr
Looking for places to visit in the vicinity, I found Gigrin farm (https://gigrin.co.uk/), which does daily Red Kite feeding.
I have to say, if you are interested in seeing Red Kites, it's absolutely amazing - huge numbers of them, and they are there for well over an hour, so lots of opportunities for shots.
They have a few general hides (£10 admission), but I opted for the cheapest of the photographic hides, the Gateway Hide (£28) - which can have up to 3 in it, but I was the only one the time I was there (there would be plenty of space even with 3 people with tripods). If the weather was good, I'd suggest the Tower or Big Tower might be even better, as the half-roof would mean you could track birds further as they flew from the field over the hide.
Basically, at 3pm a tractor pulled into the field, stopped at the edge, and one of the people from the farm grabbed his shovel and threw a few shovel loads of diced beef out over the field (he repeated this several times over about an hour, changing positions as he went).
Then the fun began, as the Kites descended.
RedKites-1 by Jonathan, on Flickr
RedKites-3 by Jonathan, on Flickr
This is a rare leucistic Red Kite
RedKites-5 by Jonathan, on Flickr
Flying off with his prize of some beef
RedKites-7 by Jonathan, on Flickr
RedKites-6 by Jonathan, on Flickr