Tag birds of prey

It’s in the eyes.

George McNeill 3 Comments

Meet the Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) a bird of prey that is a specialist small bird eater. It uses hedges and buildings for cover to get closer to it’s prey. It is an exceptionally agile hunter commonly seen hunting in woodland, wooded farmland and urban green spaces. Also they turn up around bird feeders in gardens.

I was sitting in the van monitoring a possible bird of prey nest site, when movement caught my eye in a tree on the other side of the road. It was those eyes looking at me as I froze, not want to scare it off I remained still. It settled and started looking around, so it didn’t see me as a threat. I lifted the camera and leaned over so I could photograph it from the open passenger side window. I got around twenty photos before a passing vehicle scared it off.

The next photograph is off a pair of Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), a male and female. They appeared from a gateway down the road from me, so my camera is never far away. This handsome bird is thought to have been brought into the UK around 2000 years ago by the Romans. They are now found across the whole of the UK and Ireland. The male mates with more that one female who is left to raise the chicks alone. A clutch of pheasant eggs typically comprises 8–15 eggs. Usually, one egg a day is laid by the hen bird. Once the final egg of a clutch has been laid, the clutch is then incubated for 23– 25 days before the chicks all hatch within a 12-hour window. They remain with the female till around 8 weeks old. Most are raised in the UK on large country estates for game shooting.

Thank you for visiting and joining me out and about in Northern Ireland.

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First Posting in a couple of years.

George McNeill 4 Comments

There as been a few changes in my life over this last couple of years, changes where I stepped back from posting. Taking time to look after myself from the stress of my employer moving me to a different location to work. I survived and retired in December 2024.

So my first post is about volunteering with the RSPB as a Conservation Officer on The Northern Ireland Red Kite Project.

These birds were reintroduced back into the north of Ireland in 2008 with young birds from Wales. 2010 saw the First Red Kites to hatch in Northern Ireland in 200 years.

They are monitored most of the year, Winter means being out in all weathers till dark doing Roost counts. These birds like some other birds of prey are social and roost in groups, first we need to find the roosting sites. Then count how many are there, This information is relayed back from all the volunteers from different roosts. it gives an indication of how many are in the area.

Red Kites hunting for food.

You can see in the above photos wing tags on some of the birds, brown tags on the left wing means it a Northern Ireland bird. The colour tag on the right wing gives the birth year, there are numbers and letters on the tags which help in with nest and year information. Also you can see the forked tail from which it gets it name.

Next comes Spring and nest building time. Red kites mate for life and will reuse the same nest if they were successful in rearing a family in it the previous year. But if unsuccessful will move to a new nest site. This becomes race to find them before the trees get their leaf covering. Plus we get help from the public who report possible nest sites. We monitor the nest for the sight of chicks, when they are five to six weeks old the identification tags are fitted to the wings and leg. you have to be licensed to handle and tag these birds.

Young Red Kite waiting to be tagged While in the other photo it’s getting a leg ring fitted. Notice the young birds just stay still, they play dead.

I will give some measurements and weight for adult birds .

Length: 60-66cm or 23-26 inches

Wingspan: 154-170cm or 60-67 inches

Weight: 750-1600g or 1.6-3.5 pounds

We watch the young Kites getting stronger by the week as they lose their down for full feathers, flapping their wings to build strength for flight. Once flying juveniles move on after four weeks.

Its at this time we get a short break before autumn arrives and the dark evenings. Time to warp up warm and look forward to roost counting season.

I’ll leave you with a few photographs of this beautiful bird and thank you stopping by.

Stay safe,

George.

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4 responses to “First Posting in a couple of years.”

  1. doerfpub Avatar
    doerfpub

    First off, congratulations on the retirement. I can definitely say I never looked back after making that call. Now the Red Kite…wow, that is a cool bird. We have the White tailed variety over here to enjoy, but I do really like your resident variety. Thanks for introducing me to this species!

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    1. George McNeill Avatar
      George McNeill

      Thank you for your comment, yes retirement is a great gift to ones self. More time to spend in nature.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. A Curious Introvert Avatar
    A Curious Introvert

    Welcome back and you’ve been missed!! Congratulations on your retirement and new volunteer opportunity! Looking forward to seeing some of your wonderful photos as you enjoy less stressful times.🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Janet Avatar
    Janet

    Happy retirement George, and what a great way to volunteer! Love the shots of it in flight.

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