For the last year or so there have been regular sightings and reports of a Black Kite in the area of Wrentham church and because these birds are so rarely seen in this country it was concluded that it must have escaped from captivity at some point which appears to have been confirmed by the presence of a red coloured ring on one of its legs. Nobody really thought that it would remain in the area for so long so it must not be having any trouble getting food.
This spring the bird began to display behaviour that indicated it was trying to attract a mate by collecting nest building material and constructing a rather untidy nesting platform. Because there are so few in the country the likelihood of any success was extremely remote but a few weeks ago it did attract the attention of a passing Red Kite that spent a few days with the Black version before moving on. There was speculation that the two could raise a brood together as there have been a few documented occasions when the species have cross bred successfully but this now seems to be unlikely as the Red Kite has not been seen for some time but this has not prevented the resident bird from continuing to display and call whilst still collecting various nesting material.
On my recent visit the Black Kite was initially spotted in a tree at quite a distance but it soon took to the air and landed in another tree much closer where it appeared to be watching me. As I walked along the road it followed me and at some points was only about 20ft above me which was much too close to use the 500mm lens that I had on the camera. Continuing to observe the bird I watched it fly around collecting straw type material but didn't take it to the nest but instead flew from tree to tree gradually losing bits of the straw each time it landed. A beautiful bird definitely worth another visit sometime soon.
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