This is a red kite. They were once almost extinct in the UK but their numbers are rising again owing to various breeding programmes.
They are primarily scavengers and carrion eaters but also hunt small mammals. They're becoming quite prolific in the Chilterns now, and very visibly so. This one and its mate circle our area two or three times a day. They're very difficult to capture from here because although they fly quite low over us, it's only for a matter of a few seconds in the course of their circuit. I usually manage to spot them just as they're at the lowest point, and by the time I've got the camera in my hands, they're up high again! This isn't the lowest they fly here but it's the closest shot I've ever been able to get, and I've been keeping watch for most of my project!
The inset shows the chestnut red of its tail feathers .
Critique welcome. Veteran 365er, 2011 vintage. Only posting occasionally and irregularly now.
I'm an abstract photography enthusiast but not exclusively so.
Born in the...
@natsnell same here, this shot really takes me back to our old house, near the Chilterns, were we would see so many Red Kites swirling about the sky. Great capture of them.
I used to love laying out in the back garden watching dozens of these circle round right overhead.