This is a very quick post about something amazing that I saw out walking on Sunday. Dad and I were stalking roe deer in Quoiggs wood. We had already seen loads of them when I heard a bird sound like a high-pitched eek, more high pitched than a buzzard. Then a red kite came down into a small clearing, tried to land on a tree, changing its mind then flew off. Then we saw it was being chased by a crow !
We moved out of the wood to watch it. The crow was just chasing it around, and the red kite was crying out. Much higher up there was another red kite watching.
I have seen crows mob buzzards before. Crows hate buzzards because buzzards catch baby crows to feed to baby buzzards and they fly in groups to knock buzzards out the sky. I have found a buzzard skeleton that had been killed in this way.
The crow chased the red kite for about five or ten minutes. Even when the kite flew really high the crow still chased him.
The bird had a shiny beak. That means it was a rook. Here is how to tell the difference between the corvids (crows).
Red kites have tags on the wing to show where and when they were born. This is what they mean. This one had a red tag on the left wing, which means it was born in Central Scotland, and a green one on the right wing meaning it was born in 2006. It also had a code like a car registration number which I think was H7.
The day before I was out walking with dad and my brothers and I think I saw this same kite about three miles away. The photograph at the top of the story was the one taken then.
It was an amazing sight and I'm glad the kite got away without being injured !
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2 comments :
Wow, that sounds amazing!
Another good sighting and an excellent set of pictures. I got a sequence of something very similar between a hooded crow and a golden eagle on North Uist in early May. I'll email you!
Ric
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