On my way back home from Oxfordshire this afternoon, I decided to stop off and visit Stokenchurch to count the roosting RED KITES. It was extremely disappointing, with only a fraction of the birds I counted in December 2008 coming in. Maybe they have all drifted out for spring territories or have created new roost-sites; maybe this week's harsh conditions have changed their habits.
Co-ordinating counts from 1700 hours, there were just 26 birds in the Fingest Roost and only 88 birds was counted arriving at the various roost-tree sites in the Ibstone valley between 1715 and 1740
114 is a very poor total and over 70% lower than my December count. Interestingly, three roost-sites were empty
Co-ordinating counts from 1700 hours, there were just 26 birds in the Fingest Roost and only 88 birds was counted arriving at the various roost-tree sites in the Ibstone valley between 1715 and 1740
114 is a very poor total and over 70% lower than my December count. Interestingly, three roost-sites were empty