Best news ever for day 10 of 30 Days Wild ... the back garden red kites have at least one chick! It's such fantastic news, as after successfully raising two chicks about four years ago, they've failed every year since. This year though there is definitely one chick and very possibly more.
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| That's definitely a fluffy white head next to Mum |
They've nested in my parents back garden for several years now, right next to their house. You can see the nest (and the chick) from their kitchen window, although this photo was taken from the other side of the tree, about half way down their garden.
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| The fluffy body of a chick |
The last couple of years they've lost their nest in gales, but this year it was a really secure, deep nest and has stuck tight. The nest is full of sheep's wool, paper, plastic bags, kitchen roll and what looks like an old dishcloth. They do like to include some lovely things in the nest and are still adding to it all the time.
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| Adding a bit more paper to the nest (taken last week) |
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| They're also still bringing in sticks for the nest |
They're looking after the chick(s) well and the female is always close by, usually on the edge of the nest. The male brings in most of the food and seems to be bringing lots of natural food (as opposed to the chicken wings that lots of people feed the kites around here). I'm not sure what he had today, but it looks furry!
When he's not getting food, he sits in a nearby tree and keeps an eye on the nest.
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| Proud Dad! |
As the chicks grow, they'll start to sit on the edge of the nest and will be much more visible. Really looking forward to watching them grow up!
11/6/2017: More views today of the chick, but these were taken from inside the kitchen. Not a bad view out of the kitchen window!
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