Red Kite News from Gigrin Farm!

Numbers again rise + Clocks are changing soon..

2011-10-22T23:32:00.002+01:00

The numbers of red kites coming to feed are now well in excess of 400 and with the colder weather they will increase almost weekly. The Clocks will be changing on the night of the 29th, so... As from Sunday 30th October, red kite feeding will be at 2pm, and will not change back again until the end of March.. We had a very under weight red kite brought in by photographer Janet Baxter, from

White red kite turns up near Boston (Lincolnshire)

2011-09-14T00:36:00.000+01:00

One of the kites we had in for rehabilitation, and returned to the wild, has turned up near Boston, Lincolnshire! Some 280 kilometers.. The search is now on for someone, traveling from Lincolnshire to Wales, to bring the kite back. Its a white kite so likely to be bullied by other birds and this may have been part of the story behind its epic journey. The link below allows you to

Red Kite numbers rise + On BBC 11/09/11

2011-09-07T23:36:00.000+01:00

Immature red kite circles the feeding station Gigrin is due to be featured on Country Tracks , BBC 1, 11am, Sunday 11th September. As autumn gets nearer the number of red kites coming to Gigrin red kite centre is on the rise again. Between 200 and 300 are now feeding, and come in right on time. White Kite eats its spoil This is in marked contrast to the

White Kite in for rehab and the last kites go to Ireland

2011-07-08T21:32:00.000+01:00

The older white kite, of the two that have been frequenting the feeding station, was found some distance away in a distressed state having been caught in a heavy rain storm. No 51 was brought in for a short spell in rehabilitation before being released a few days later. The bird is now a frequent visitor to the feeding station once again. The last batch of 30 red kite

Red kites for Ireland - for the last time

2011-06-09T23:31:00.000+01:00

A red kite chick, not yet playing dead when approached... Red kite chick are once again being collected from the Welsh countryside for repatriation to the emerald isle. This is the fifth, and final year that red kites will be exported to Ireland. Over the past 4 years there have been 2 weeks of frantic activity as nests are sought with multiple healthy chicks, and the next weeks will no

Gigrin Red Kites on BBC Countryfile

2011-04-12T12:17:00.005+01:00

The red kites were the stars when BBC Countryfile came to the farm. Julia Bradbury (left) was the presenter.. Colin was here on Friday and will be seen feeding the kites. The programme is due to go out on the 24th April - Easter Sunday - 7pm BBC 1. Pedro comes to Gigrin. Pedro has arrived as company for Honey, our 30yr old part-bred arab. He's very friendly, loves children, and is just

Clocks are changing - 3pm feeding from the 27th

2011-03-24T20:18:00.000Z

We had a surprise visitor last Saturday - Simon King! He came to the farm with his son, and they watched the kite feeding before coming to my office for a chat. Once here it was explained to me some of the exciting things that are now possible and how these are used on his wildlifewhisperers.tv web site, and in addition, how Gigrin could become part of that. It is all very exciting –

Back on line..

2011-03-11T00:24:00.001Z

I left the farm for a 7 day break and came back to find a number of problems had arisen. The most important of these was the lack of telephone service. During the replacement of a window, a lead had been pulled out of its socket and this had not been noticed over the week of my absence. Please accept our apologies if you had urgent need to get in touch over this time. The kites are once

Rehabilitation success

2011-02-01T22:08:00.000Z

It’s very often the case that the last I see of a red kite that has spent time recovering in the rehabilitation centre is its flight back into the wild. However, I have received not only news but also a photograph of one such bird. The kite had been found in a poor state last July near Aberystwyth having recently fledged and brought here to the Gigrin

And from the camera looking skywards..

2011-01-05T15:41:00.001Z

Here is the second movie - should have been the first.. This camera was looking straight up to the sky as I put the first food out on Christmas Day. More snow is now forecast so I hope to get some more unique footage soon. :-)

Red kites in Close up - movie

2011-01-04T22:28:00.001Z

As promised, here is a short exert from the footage shot on Christmas day. The larger HD version is on Youtube.com Enjoy :-)

Fantastic colours and kites in close up

2010-12-29T00:08:00.000Z

Red Kites in close up on Christmas day Water is again flowing here after 2 weeks of freezing weather, and the roads are again passable by all vehicles. The image on the left is just one frame from one of three high definition video cameras I set recording on Christmas day. Aiming for lunch I've never seen anything as beautiful as the films taken on the day. The colours are exquisite

It's a White Christmas at Gigrin. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2010-12-24T11:05:00.001Z

We have over 600 red kites to feed at present. Colin was a hero on Wednesday when he volunteered to cut up the 1500lbs of meat to save me the job over Christmas. The Meat Cutting machine had come back from the repair company despite the snow so that was very welcome. We are closed on Christmas Day but will be open on Boxing day again. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas From all at Gigrin

Winter Wonder Land

2010-12-08T22:12:00.001Z

Needless to say, there are many hundreds of red kites feeding daily. They are thwarted from finding food themselves due the the temperature being below freezing 24 hrs a day. -14 was recorded earlier this week with the result that streams are frozen over, and the farmhouse is without water.. Our main meat chopping machine has broken down so the standby (much smaller) meat cutter has

Brrrrrrr its cold!!

2010-11-29T12:12:00.002Z

With 5” of snow on the ground and punishing frosts at night, it’s been touch and go on starting the vehicles. The Blue tractor got going just in time to feed the kites yesterday as the normal one wouldn't even turn over after 4 hours of battery charging. I'm sure in the current weather the kites would not have minded if I'd used any sort of transport for the meat as they poured in. The movie

Snow and Red Kite - So soon!

2010-11-27T23:55:00.000Z

It doesn't seem very long ago that I was posting about snow at Gigrin but yesterday (26th November) 4" - 5" fell between 11am and 3pm. Hundreds of red kites plus two white red kites came in for their lunch as the snow fell. Today was very different with sunshine all afternoon so I took a couple of photographs while I had the chance - Colin feeds the kites Friday and Saturday. The

Over 400 kites + Update on the Nikon Photography Course

2010-11-19T19:51:00.001Z

Click to see the movie Well over 400 red kites have been feeding at Gigrin this past week and the first birds come in as I put the food down so I am hoping for better weather next week as my filming came to nought these past 7 days. Part of the problem was that on the only sunny day I had to use the blue (Landini) tractor as the Red (Zetor) wouldn't start after the nights frost. The kites

White Red Kite and hundreds of red ones

2010-11-13T22:22:00.000Z

Gigrin has seen a great many kites feeding in past winters but, on the cooler days these past weeks, there have been more than can be counted, and the white red kite is now also making daily appearances. As our meat chiller only keeps its contents fresh for a week, and during the Christmas period, there are no deliveries for 2 weeks, obtaining enough food for the birds has been an annual

Golden Eagle visits & lots of Red Kites

2010-10-18T18:54:00.001+01:00

Not what you may have expected on this page? Well, this is Axil, the Golden Eagle. He was brought to Gigrin as his owner wished to watch the red kite feeding spectacle. Something in the region of 350 red kites are now coming in for lunch each day so we have increased the weight of meat being fed again, by another 20kg. There is now 70kg/day being fed, and this is all being eaten by the end

A large increase in kites visiting

2010-09-22T21:53:00.002+01:00

The numbers of red kites visting have mushroomed these past weeks and their time keeping is normal now too. The Rooks have returned so giving the kites confidence to come in right on time each day usually.. There have been a few hiccups. like yesterday, when a large silver car followed the tractor into the kite feeding area. This spooked the crows and kites alike and left photographers

Red kites galore!

2010-08-21T23:58:00.000+01:00

Red kites poured in today so dare I say that we are back to normal? Well, maybe, although Sunday is forecast to be a dry day, Monday is scheduled to be very wet so I'll hold off from any cheering for the time being. The occupants of the rehabilitation aviaries took quite a battering from the weather in the morning so the netting that was taken down yesterday has been put back up as it gives

Better day at the feeding station

2010-08-20T21:51:00.000+01:00

The kites were on time today so that helped my blood pressure stay somewhere like normal, unlike yesterdays disappointments. While it again rained most of the earlier part of the afternoon it was very light drizzle so the crows were happy to fly into the arena and these were quickly followed by good numbers of red kites. Tony Cross helped with mixing cement, and carrying concrete blocks for

More rehabilitation, plus today was a very wet one..

2010-08-19T23:36:00.001+01:00

The latest kite to have been rehabilitated took to the skies again on Tuesday, I fail to get any photographs this time but the bird flew away strongly - Z1 is on its tags so it will be looked out for at feeding time. Another red kite in trouble arrived yesterday. It was not able to keep anything down but an antibiotic injection has helped and the kite is eating today. I had managed at last to

The rehab unit has been busy this week. .

2010-08-15T02:40:00.001+01:00

The rehab unit has been busy again this week with the release of the now fit young kite here on the farm, and another being brought in, again because of being underweight. With around 250 - 300 red kites presently taking advantage of the feeding centre it has been almost a daily occurrence that the kites have been late for lunch. This has been caused by a lack of rooks. These

Red Kites in for rehabilitation

2010-07-29T04:22:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since the last post but it’s also been very busy here. The kite feeding is at 3pm as its been every summer for nearly 2 decades but as of the mid of July the kites behavior always changes and instead of coming in at the time of the food going out they instead wait for another species be it a crow, or magpie, to alight on the food. Today, 20 minutes had past before crows

Rehabilitation of red kite chick a success

2010-07-04T19:32:00.000+01:00

Pictured here is the Red Kite Chick we had in for rehabilitation. Sheep wool had become wound tightly around this chicks leg and had caused it to loose its use. Having finished its course of pain killers and antibiotics the chick was now walking well (no doubt happy to have no more injections), so it was taken back to the vet, for a final appraisal, before being put back into the nest

Photographs from the nest and the feeding station

2010-06-28T10:40:00.001+01:00

The image on the left is from a red kite nest, complete with chick, at about 80ft above the ground. Robert Straughan, of Northern Ireland RSPB, very kindly took my HD video camera up into the canopy and took some amazing footage. I'm currently trying to compress video for the web and will post links as soon as I have something usable (mbs rather than gbs!) This last week another 24 red

Red Kite Chicks head for Ireland

2010-06-20T00:41:00.001+01:00

Red Kite Chicks have once again been staying at Gigrin before heading out for the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. The 29 went out last week - 14 to County Whitlow, courtesy of the Golden Eagle Trust in the I.Republic, and 15 to N.Ireland - courtesy of the RSPB. We've been having rather fraught times at Gigrin these past weeks what with not 1 but 2 of my hard drives going bad,

:Northern Ireland red kite reintroduction update

2010-04-22T10:13:00.000+01:00

SPRING 2010 UPDATE In 2008 RSPB Northern Ireland began the country’s first ever species reintroduction. The three year project aims to bring back about 70 red kites, a bird of global conservation concern, to Northern Ireland having been extinct here for over 200 years. A big thanks goes to everyone who signed our Birds of Prey campaign to stop the illegal killing of our raptors. In total,

Red kite - Rutland to Cornwall!

2010-04-21T21:51:00.001+01:00

David Flumm, of the Marazion Marsh RSPB Nature Reserve wrote to me to report: "On 13 April 2010 a Red Kite flew east 13:50 - 14:05 hrs over our reserve at Marazion Marsh RSPB Nature Reserve, Cornwall. It showed a bright white wing tag on the left wing and a duller one on the right wing. From your web site it is clearly from the Rutland area but I am not absolutely sure of the tag

Red kite heads back from Ireland!

2010-04-18T22:07:00.000+01:00

Tim Davis, the (voluntary) bird recorder for Lundy Island www.birdsoflundy.org.uk in the Bristol Channel, off the North Devon or South Wales coast depending on where you’re looking from, emailed me with the Red Kite pictured on the left. It had been present on Lundy since 13 March, up to and including 23 March, at least. Red Kites remain an extreme rarity on Lundy (it being a small lump of

Red Kites and Summer Time

2010-03-27T22:46:00.000Z

Today was the last day, for another 7 months, that the kites were to be fed at 2pm. We will still be open from 1pm but from Sunday 28th March (tomorrow) until the last weekend of October, the red kites will be fed at 3pm. We currently have a Buzzard and a Red Kite in our rehabilitation aviaries, with another red kite expected in on Monday. I'm currently working on large species

Back to the fray..

2010-03-22T22:41:00.001Z

Meat was in short supply when I got back on the Sunday so urgent phone calls were made the next day and our local butcher came to the rescue. Supplies are now keeping up with demand again although we have still not sufficient to have back up of more than one day. I'd not seen the Black Kite here on the 15th or 16th March, and to be truthful I'd stopped looking for the bird, thinking it's

Back in 10 days or so.. and the kites will still be fed

2010-03-01T23:26:00.000Z

For the next 2 weeks Colin will be feeding the kites here at Gigrin. I'm escaping to recharge my batteries, and to hopefully repair a rather painful knee.. The numbers of red kites coming to feed are now dropping as they again pair up and leave for their nesting sites. However, there will still be a good number coming into the feeding station as there are some which will be nesting quite close

Back to the news..Black kite & Snow

2010-02-20T22:46:00.000Z

The Black kite is bringing in many photographers and watchers alike. All are very much appreciated over these expensive winter months when much more food is required. The two photographs on the left show the black kite, and, below, a red kite. Both are eating food they have taken from the feeding station. Earlier this week the Forestry Commission came to ask if we could provide them with meat

Black kite on film - much better..

2010-02-02T01:33:00.000Z

Here is the link to the fresh Black Kite filming attempt Mk II filmed on Saturday Snow fell quite heavily on Saturday night - not at all what had been forecast - so, although the 3" had diminished today, I have managed to film this bird almost full frame over the remaining snow so there will be another update tomorrow. I've received an email from Holland.. Natasja Kruithof has posted a

Black kite on video at last..

2010-01-26T00:02:00.000Z

The Black Kite came around well after I'd put out the food so my chances of capturing the bird on film were far greater than has been the case lately. Due to my feet getting mixed up with the tripod it became much shorter, and much more wobbly a clip than intended, although it does show the bird as made its flight around the feeding area . If the Forecasters are correct, tomorrow is

Snow, and yes, the black kite is still here..

2010-01-20T15:12:00.000Z

Snow has been falling most of the day but its not amounting to much yet. About 1/2 inch was on the feeding field when I went down there today. Its a dark and gloomy day and my attempts to capture a meaningful photograph of the black kite came to nought despite the bird coming around in front of the hides at least 3 times. This kite has picked up the methods used by the more seasoned

Water is back, & the black kite's squealing in a tree

2010-01-18T19:41:00.000Z

The black kite was quite vocal in the morning in a tree behind the house, and put in two appearances at feeding time. I hope to film this bird one of these days. The main problem is that I’m still coming out of the field, having fed the kites, when the first of his visits occurs and so limiting my chances to capture the kite. We have water back in the taps :-)) That has been the

Black kite still here and seen by many

2010-01-17T23:01:00.001Z

Colin Horlock fed the kites today, while I had a very rare and pleasant afternoon away from the farm celebrating a good friend’s birthday. ( <- red kite with food) The Black Kite again made its presence known at feeding time. It is now over ten days since we have had running water in the house and buildings. Somewhere under the concrete and tarmac that make up the farmyards is a

Clear Roads, & the Black Kite..

2010-01-16T17:36:00.004Z

Vehicles of all types can now drive to the farm as most of the snow has melted off hard surfaces. There is still ice about the farm but nothing to prevent cars, or folk on foot, from getting about. The kites were slower coming in for their lunch today as the 'pecking order' of adults before young again swung into action. The food has not been lasting much more than 20 minutes these past 4

2010-01-14T23:14:00.001Z

Well, Snow Watch showed 500 plus red kites feeding at Gigrin, yesterday evening, and the web site again lit up with visits from all over the world. However, what was not shown was our visiting Black Kite, which was a surprise as their camera man had the bird in shot on Monday. Steve Little provide me with the image on the left - the Black kite taking its prize from our snow laden feeding area.

Snow Watch BBC 2 8pm Wednesday

2010-01-12T23:06:00.002Z

BBC 2 are screening footage from around the UK on Wednesday evening. This may have red kites on view.. With well over 500 red kites coming in for food every day it is important to keep up with their needs, and this is possible only if deliveries can get through. Although our road is impassable to trucks I was able to meet our suppler in the town and collect another 500kgs, and another

The Black Kite and a Red kite

2010-01-05T23:11:00.001Z

This black kite was here again today and was happy to sit in a tree along side another full of red kites prior to feeding time. Professor Gareth Jones,School of Biological Sciences, Bristol, has very kindly sent me one of his photographs of yesterday. I've uploaded one of my Immature Red Kite images for comparison. It is snowing heavily tonight yet again so the kites, white, black

Black Kite, and now, Snow again

2010-01-05T11:28:00.001Z

That Bird was here again yesterday, and was photographed by many, and seen by even more. It has brought a lot of extra excitement to the Farm. The sun shone, so red, black, and white kites were shown off to perfection. I am waiting for some of those photographs, taken of the black kite yesterday, to land in my inbox. I was busy feeding the birds so did not get an opportunity to capture its

Rare Black Kite at Gigrin Farm!

2010-01-03T17:51:00.001Z

This rare Black Kite was photographed here at Gigrin Feeding Station today 3rd January 2010 by Dee Doody. I'd been asked earlier in the afternoon if black kites would be seen and I'd replied 'No, they are not native to the UK'.. We have another red kite in for rehabilitation so the aviary now has 2 red kites and a buzzard to care for. I'll post more news tomorrow.

Red Kites in the Snow, as promised.

2009-12-22T20:58:00.002Z

Click any for a larger picture. Enjoy! Red Kites waiting for lunch It was late this afternoon as the tractor refused to leave the building for about 10 minutes due to the icy conditions. Getting closer to feeding time. The kites were aloft well before the tractor appeared with food, due in no small part to the above situation. If you look closely to the larger image you should see a kite,

Snow, and Merry Christmas!

2009-12-21T23:36:00.003Z

Colin Horlock has been here most weekends for over 12 months and has gradually increased his duties here on the farm. Feeding the kites now forms part of his weekend and that gives me the chance to catch up with other work, and on Saturdays, even take the occasional afternoon off! This will also enable me to take my cameras down to the hides to take photographs, and film, myself for a

Red kites in their many hundreds are descending for food each day

2009-11-23T11:36:00.004Z

Red kites in their many hundreds are descending for food each day - the image on the left shows a small sample of the birds that visit Gigrin at this time of year. Despite the recent heavy rains the kites have been coming in on time. The annual problem with meat supplies has come around once again , and this time it is a good month earlier than other years. Our supplier in Herefordshire went

Times are Changing for the Red Kite Feeding

2009-10-22T22:07:00.000+01:00

This coming weekend is when the Clocks go back an hour here in the UK. This leads to the red kite feeding being at 2pm from Sunday 25th October as red kites don't know that we humans alter the time.. The numbers of red kites now coming in for their lunch have already reached many hundreds, and this is just the beginning of the winter season. The above movie comes in large sizes according to

Oh, what a week!

2009-10-03T23:34:00.002+01:00

Hundreds of red kites coming bang on the time we say at the moment - 3pm ( all will change next week of course). Last week was when diesel was bought for our Petrol generator.. I took our horse box into town to collect the repaired machine, loaded it, shut the gates, and proceeded to drive off with the tail gate dragging on the ground!! Arragh@ I am now in the firm belief that a break is in

Roads are back to normal

2009-09-25T00:00:00.006+01:00

The road coming south out of Rhayader is open again.The last 3 days have been very difficult for our visitors but a surprising number of folk have managed to get here despite the road closed signs beginning some 13 miles out from here.The kites are now coming in very quickly with a few taking food as I put out the first shovel full of meat.I had made things more difficult for myself here a couple

Red Kites, and Road Works!

2009-09-23T21:06:00.005+01:00

Red kites are increasing in numbers by the day but coming to see them has been become a trial for many motorists this week..BT have contractors are digging up the road in Rhayader. This cuts us off from the town but is not the worst of the story as a mile and a half down the A470 those approaching from the South are confronted by a sign "ROAD CLOSED".No! It is only closed in Rhayader!So how to

Red Kite Numbers Climb + News from the Rehab Centre.

2009-09-13T21:18:00.010+01:00

The numbers of red kites descending for food has begun to rise as autumn beckons. The past three days have seen them arriving on time too, which is both good news for all our visitors, and my ever climbing stress levels.Today we had TV cameras working here again - this time for the Wales Tourist Board Its the first time I can remember that the WTB have recognised what the Gigrin Farm does for

Sunshine and rain makes for unpredictable kites

2009-09-02T22:43:00.005+01:00

The last 30 days have been torturous in the extreme as the kites have had such an unreliable time table. The worst day so far, thursday 6th August, it was 5:30 when the kites came down for food. That was a very warm and sunny day. Since then, timings have been anywhere from 3pm on the dot, on cool days, to todays 5:15 in the pouring rain.August is a particularly awkward month as the rooks that

Red Kites on time :-)

2009-08-21T21:11:00.005+01:00

Things are on the move here. A very well known wildlife artist is going to be exhibiting here at Gigrin in the near future. Next Saturday is the expected start date.Having had an accident this morning that resulted in my being seen hobbling around the yard both in great discomfort and at a snails pace, feeding the kites was out of the question, so Colin stepped forward at 3pm.All went to plan -

Fresher day makes for kites on time

2009-08-20T20:04:00.004+01:00

The rehabilitation unit has just one resident now as the young buzzard was released back into the wild at the weekend. The red kite chick has recovered the ability to fly and is eating on its own so will soon be able to join its wild brethren. The last 10 days of sunshine have meant very unreliable feeding times for kite watchers.Today the weather was much 'fresher' and kites were waiting for 3pm

Here we go again..

2009-08-08T16:27:00.005+01:00

The kites were late again today. Nothing as late as Thursday, but they still maintained their distance from the hides until around 3:30pm when a couple of dozen birds came swooping through.As I have mentioned before, the warm weather is the reason behind this.The majority of the red kites were high in the heavens until the day began to cool, where upon they sank back down to the field. This is

Blood pressure returns to normal

2009-08-07T16:35:00.007+01:00

Following the increase in blood pressure, caused by the non arrival of the kites yesterday, it was not without some trepidation that I put out the food at 3pm today. I needn't have worried as just 2 minutes later the kites began descending.A raven was the first bird on the field and that helped things enormously. A far cry from what we all endured yesterday.There were gaps between the kites

Red Kites? Where!?

2009-08-06T22:40:00.009+01:00

The weather was fine, hides were full of expectation, the food was put out for the kites at 3pm and.. and.. where are the kites!It was nearly an hour before the first birds arrived and then not in great numbers. The only consolation being this summers rare sun picking out the vibrant colours of these birds.A long afternoon spent seeking fleeting sightings was far from the amazing spectacle that

The bedraggled creature on the right..

2009-07-19T10:27:00.013+01:00

The bedraggled creature in the right image is the same red kite chick that was so fiery only the day before. I'd come into the aviary to check on the birds and found the numpty sitting in the only puddle in the entire enclosure. On being reunited with the covered perch it made a very sorry picture but I'm happy to report the bird now has dry feathers again, and is eating all its rations.The kite

Red Kite Rehabilitation aviaries back in action

2009-07-09T22:27:00.010+01:00

All had been quiet in the rehabilitation aviaries since the red kite chicks went to Ireland last month but all of a sudden a flurry of action has come our way. This red kite chick, showing off as I approached with food this afternoon, was the first to arrive. Its parent had been found dead, with signs of secondary poisoning - rat poison being thought the most likely culprit.Red Kites, being

ITV Country Wise at Gigrin

2009-06-29T00:31:00.006+01:00

I missed to add that on Thursday (25th June) that we were again on TV - ITV Country Wise presented Gigrin and I've heard nothing but praise despite my not being able to hardly open my eyes during filming due to the sun, and reflector being used. The red kites for Ireland project, based here at Gigrin, is managed by the Welsh Kite Trust, Golden Eagle Trust Ltd of Ireland, and the Northern

Red kite chicks for Ireland

2009-06-19T23:23:00.011+01:00

Its that time of year again - Red kite chicks heading for Ireland.The first batch went over last weekend, as they have the past two years but this time it was not so easy at the border..When Damian Clark, The Red Kite Project Leader in Ireland, came back to the farm it was with the news that the Irish Authorities had brought up a problem with the paperwork.In the past I have signed off on the

Springwatch - WOW!

2009-06-02T19:27:00.005+01:00

Having been successful in bringing in a few dozen kites in for an evening feed for the past few weeks I had thought the job was done and that Springwatch would have red kites feeding live on TV. But, alas, that was not to be as this was the hottest day of the year so far, and the evening had not yet cooled down, so those birds that were flying were having fun high on the thermals while the

Springwatch come to Gigrin Farm

2009-05-26T22:03:00.012+01:00

On Monday 1st June 2009, at 8:00pm BBC Springwatch presented by Simon King, will be broadcasting live from Gigrin Farm.If you watch Springwatch next Monday you'll see an amazing sight as these beautiful birds descend for their lunch. Simon King has his 1,000 frames a second camera in action and this is something not to be missed. I've set my system to record the broadcast as I doubt very much

Red Kites on TV

2009-05-19T18:02:00.005+01:00

The red kites at Gigrin are again starring on Television.Country Wise were here on Sunday . Kate, seen here standing by our red kite sculpture, was the presenter and proved to be happy to try anything.She helped to feed the red kites, although wielding a shovel of meat would likely not have been listed in the job description..

Another month..

2009-05-05T20:51:00.009+01:00

We have around 250 red kites coming for food at present. This is likely to be the level we'll see for the next month as nesting halves the adults that can come for lunch. A tail-less red kite made its entry yesterday but, although it was still incredibly agile despite the loss of its rudder, the meat held in its feet was no longer shielded and kite after kite took after the unfortunate bird until

Spring time & bold red kites

2009-04-09T22:24:00.008+01:00

With the onset of spring the kites seem in a great hurry to take food and return to whence they came. The adults now come in well before any crows alight and are not afraid to take food as soon as the first meat has hit the grass. Kites continue to take food until around 5pm. These later birds will be the youngest or else the lowest on the pecking order.I'm now waiting for news from a data

The Clocks are Changing!

2009-03-28T17:01:00.004Z

As of tomorrow, Sunday 29th March, feeding of the kites will be taking place at 3pm and not 2pm as it has been for the winter months.The birds don't know that we move the clocks hence the need for us to change Our routine to fit with theirs..We've had visits from two different BBC programmes this month - more details will be posted when I have it.I've not been able to send up any photographs

Red kite in rehabilitation

2009-03-16T20:48:00.008Z

We have another red kite in rehabilitation.It was brought in last week by a Vet from the Hafren Veterinary Group - Llanidloes.It was in a collision with a vehicle (if my memory is correct) and was treated in Hafron before coming here. Seen here hanging like a bat from the aviary netting, its now flying well, and has consumed a good amount of food, so will likely be able to go back out to the

Red Kite Gallery

2009-02-27T20:42:00.006Z

I know its been a while since I posted news here but, I have been working on the site.. 300 plus pages take a lot of time to convert to css so the 'new look' for the whole site is a little way off yet. I have however managed to find a little time to put a new page of images on the site:- Red Kite GalleryThe red kite pictured here was taken by Janet Baxter. The unusual markings make it quite

Its Snow time!

2009-02-08T22:31:00.017Z

Well, the snow piled in, and photographers from all over the country and beyond have been here this past 10 days.The meat being taken out has been the greatest amount ever, as the number of hungry red kites have mushroomed during this latest spell of winter weather.A certain 'feeding station' to the north of Rhayader was not in operation during the days the snow fell last week, so we had an

Snow!

2009-02-02T17:14:00.006Z

Winter is certainly not over and, having seen the sheep voluntarily come down from the hill, snow or rain was not going to be far behind.I awoke to around 1/2" of snow, but it has snowed all day so has mounted up quite quickly. The heaviest fall is due over night and tomorrow.The first thing I went to do this morning was send out the 'snow alert' to those photographers who have subscribed for

White red kite and a red kite landing

2009-01-21T20:44:00.008Z

Both the white red kite and a red kite are landing these days.The white kite has been a very regular visitor since the weather got colder.We've snow on the tops of the hills around us, but none any closer, much to the disappointment of the photographers..The building repairs were almost finished but.. the recent storms have now stripped a section of slates from, what is now, the oldest barn on

Ystwyth Red Kite

2009-01-12T00:33:00.000Z

We briefly had a red kite in for rehabilitation due to it being found in the river Ystwyth by Mr Malcom Slater. Apart from its cold ducking, the kite was otherwise in good health so it was tagged and released back into the wild the following day.It was with great relief this morning that I turned on a tap and at last saw water flowing from its spout! We've been without running water for 4 long

Staggering numbers

2009-01-04T12:45:00.000Z

Red Kites coming to feed have reached staggering numbers this past week with something approaching 500 on the coldest days (-4 during the day!).The usual Red tractor has been out of commission so our much larger Blue Machine is currently carrying out the meat - the kites are far more wary of this and wait for me to get at least to the other side of the field before descending to take food.Its

Red kite feeding

2008-12-22T01:31:00.002Z

I've added a couple of pages containing movies of the kite feeding .The birds actions are quite different to those seen in the summer. Adobe Flash seems to be universal and I'm able to compress the movies to a better size than any of the other formats so there will be more appearing on the site in future.Our kite food problems have been sorted out with 3 different suppliers now providing the

Sunshine and red kites

2008-12-12T05:58:00.000Z

Sunshine and red kites make for a heady mix anyway but when individuals choose to land next to where I'm putting out the food it still surprises me enough to pause and stare. 2 kites have been bold enough to come close and feed - one is tagged, and the other (pictured here) is not. The meat locker has now a better look about it since my last post as three deliveries have been made this week.

Sky filled with red kites

2008-12-05T06:02:00.000Z

We have been feeding these beautiful birds for 16 years now, but today, I still found myself in awe as the sky filled with red kites and they dived on mass for the food just a very few yards from where I was still putting it out.Snow on the hills and frost on the trees made for a wintery scene so hundreds of hungry kites had headed for Gigrin!Meat supplies are once again a headache - Supplies are

Ferral black cat

2008-11-28T08:41:00.000Z

At this time of year its mainly photographers who populate the hides. The kites are in full feather and the low winter sun helps to pick out those glorious colours. Numbers are at their highest at this time of year, although you may not have thought that today as a ferral black cat decided to make itself seen. The crows took flight and with that the kites went to the trees and it took an hour

Released back out into the wild

2008-10-25T02:34:00.003+01:00

The red kite in rehabilitation was soon back on wing so was released back out into the wild.. I'd intended to take photographs of it taking flight but it was too quick for me and was soon away in the distance..Tony Cross brought back the white red kite <- from Stourbridge but on releasing it in the pen it was apparent that it needed no more help so it too was let back out into the wild. This time

300 red kites

2008-10-10T21:18:00.000+01:00

We are now feeding upwards of 300 red kites on a daily basis. These arrive in groups over the entire afternoon - adults first and those in the lower order then come in as their turn occurs. Its not unusual to see younger birds sitting in the trees and waiting their turn. Visitors to the red kite feeding centre will now be seeing a growing number of new signs. The kite pointing the way is but one

UK re-introduction programmes

2008-10-01T22:00:00.000+01:00

The autumn has brought with it some rare sunshine and with it more kites than I can remember being here at this time of year before.Visiting kites from around the UK re-introduction programmes are not infrequent and this afternoon a kite from the Black Isle, North Scotland, was diving for food with the best of them. As can be seen on the red kite wing tags page, its Blue/Orange tag combination (

Kite in distress

2008-09-20T00:17:00.001+01:00

The weather has been a major hindrance of course and has led to the kites being far more unpredictable with their timing. Some days they are right on time while on other occasions it has meant a long wait..Last Sunday morning I received notice of a kite in distress in the upper Wye valley. I caught the bird and immediately recognised it to be extremely thin but having had success with the white

Grim discovery

2008-09-09T21:12:00.001+01:00

One of red kite chicks we had here in the rehabilitation centre (red kite nursery) June for the re-introduction programme in Northern Ireland has been found shot dead."The grim discovery near the town and of Leitrim in South Co Down, comes just weeks after the bird was re-introduced to Northern Ireland after an absence of more than 200 years.Tests carried out by the Police Service of Northern

Touch screens damaged

2008-08-26T19:21:00.000+01:00

The white kite is here most days now. It no longer comes in at the end of the afternoon but instead has the confidence to mix it with the second sitting of red kites. These are generally younger than those that feed at 2pm but are still well up the pecking order so the white kite must be feeling happier in their company. Two of our touch screens have been damaged in the kite centre. I've managed

White kite chick

2008-08-22T23:44:00.000+01:00

Tony Cross turned up here late one night with a red kite chick to rehabilitate. Nothing particularly unusual in that until I saw the bird - a White red kite chick!It had a cold and a sore throat, and was painfully thin so lots of TLC has been required.The hand feeding is now making inroads in adding to the weight to the kite but there has also been a need to temper my exclamations (not always

Permission received

2008-08-04T20:41:00.000+01:00

Its been a very busy time here so the news page has been quiet for an over long spell but I'm back in front to the screen again.. The kite brought in for rehabilitation has been released here today and a raven that had lost a foot due to being caught up in plastic binder twine on the nest has also been released after a spell in rehab to learn how to fly. It had been unable to exercise its one

Another kite for rehabilitation

2008-07-18T00:08:00.000+01:00

Tony Cross has brought in a young kite for rehabilitation. This one can fly although not strongly enough to make it out there with its bretheren Unlike the kites I had to hand feed, this one will readily feed itself, so no more pinched fingers!!Of the earlier 3 adults and chicks, one adult was released back into the wild, while one other was found to have a spinal injury so was put to sleep, and

Red Kites for Ireland..

2008-06-25T22:43:00.000+01:00

The last 2 weeks have seen a total of 53 red kite chicks brought to Gigrin by members of the Welsh Kite Trust and the Golden Eagle Trust Ltd of Ireland. Both parties had to scale trees to find nests with more than one chick, take the smaller one from the nest, and transport it back here to one of the rehabilitation aviaries which had been transformed into a red kite chick nursery..>>28 red kite

Rustlers!

2008-06-22T19:10:00.000+01:00

Back on the 9th February, together with 3 photographers, I was in the tower hide attempting to add to my film footage of red kites. One of my companions alerted me 'something going on on the hill'. I duly turned the video camera in the direction pointed out and to my horror saw 2 sheep being strung up to a tree and butchered by 3 men.The video was used as evidence and the court case has now found

So many kites are now feeding

2008-05-19T19:40:00.000+01:00

So many kites are now feeding we have had to increase the food again.I had dropped the amount of meat we fed for a month or so as numbers lessened for nesting but that has been turned on its head these past weeks.Another bank holiday is not far away so I've been trying to update the information in the hides and on the boards.The "North Warwickshire DA (caravan & camping club)" will be holding

2008-05-04T01:01:00.000+01:00

The holiday weekend was forecast to be a washout but we've seen sunshine each day with only the briefest of showers in the evening.The white kite has been missing from the feeding session the past few weeks but this evening (7pm) is sitting high in the oak tree that overlooks the field (I missed to take a photograph due to other duties pressing on my time).This kite is reported to be nesting just

they wasted no time

2008-04-30T23:10:00.000+01:00

I still don't know quite what happened last Friday to make the kites hold back so long but today they wasted no time in coming in as soon as the first shovel of meat went out. Being nesting time the numbers are probably at their lowest for the year but are still a spectacular sight as they dive in for food.I'm moved to make some changes to the site again and to that end I've set up a small poll

Just 2 days later and the kites were very late

2008-04-27T21:17:00.000+01:00

Just 2 days later and the kites were very late coming in in any numbers today. It was around 4:15 that they reached the norm and I've no idea why that occurred today. Tomorrow will be interesting! I've added the ability to add a Comment at the bottom of most pages on the site tonight so that's a little more interactivity than has been the case up to now.

2008-04-25T19:35:00.000+01:00

Kite numbers are still around the 100-200 and are coming in very quickly for the food.On a different note..A shock has came in the cost of grass fertiliser prices this year.. last year 14 tonnes were purchased at a cost of £140/tonne but the price has now more than doubled to a staggering £375/tonne and is still rising. This is a major problem as animals need grass to eat and stocking rates

“Wales has an amazing diversity of wildlife and ..

2008-04-11T21:35:00.002+01:00

First Minister Rhodri Morgan has paid a visit to the Red Kite Feeding Centre at Gigrin Farm in Mid Wales to see how we are preparing for the forthcoming season.Rhodri Morgan said: “Wales has a great range of quality visitor attractions and a wide variety of options for days out and the Easter break presents a great opportunity for people to get out and about and discover what Wales has to offer.

Clocks have changed

2008-03-30T22:30:00.000+01:00

Kite feeding is now 3pm as the Clocks have changed and we can't tell the kites!The kite feeding centre was visited by a VIP last week and a press release is due soon - details of the visit will then appear here.Kite numbers continue to hold up and the atrocious weather of late meant that the food was gratefully received!Meat supplies have been 'difficult' on times but we think we are now back on

Spring is in the air

2008-03-20T19:25:00.002Z

Spring is in the air and the kites have nesting on their minds so visiting the feeding station has to be a quick job! This means that they are far more bold, so much so that I have been a full 20ft nearer the hides when putting out the food of late and the kites still pour in so very close to the tractor!We are short of help these days and with the holiday season getting nearer the need to have