Monday 27 July 2009

Red Kites at Leeds Champ. Show.

During the judging of the dogs I was distracted by the acrobatic display by a pair of Red Kites. These magnificent birds had been widespread in Britain at one time but, due to the mistaken belief that they were killing young lambs, they were hunted to distinction. They have since been re-introduced to several areas throughout UK, the best known being in Wales. They have a distinctive forked tail, which can be seen in the rather bleary, cropped, zoomed photo, and white patches on the underside of the wings, with the remainder of the plumage being mainly chestnut.
I must have shot about a dozen photos, which , when viewed, were of just sky and not a bird to be seen, as they soar, dip and twist in flight. I tried zooming but then couldn't find the bird in the viewfinder! These, I'm afraid, were the best of some very hazy photos. You'll probably have to click the picture to enlarge it to see the bird as it appears like a speck of dust in the first photo!

The zoomed photo showing the forked tail.
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3 comments:

Gail said...

I love the ones with more color. They must be alot of work to keep their hair so beautiful.

Pyatshaw said...

They are not too bad to keep the coat in good order--a brush, once a week would normally keep the coat tangle free, especially the ear fringing and the "trousers"/"petticoat". These are all show dogs and since they're shown on an almost weekly basis they are regularly washed and groomed.
On walks, running free, as mine do down the field tracks, they become entangled with all sorts of seeds and vegetation. Old Spencer hates "stuff" entangled in his "undercarriage"!

Gennasus said...

I watched the kites at Leeds a couple of years ago. They do some wonderful moves and don't seem the least bothered by the crowds of people.