Red Kites Attack

Today I was literally (well, almost) attacked by a bunch of red kites. I spotted a couple of birds in the field but as I was coming closer, they flew away to the nearby woods. So I sat down in the grass hoping for them to come back. Within next 5 minutes I counted over 20 red kites flying around me and hovering just above my head checking me out. I was so overwhelmed by this unexpected event, that after 20 minutes of shooting I felt totally defeated and somewhat intimidated and decided to completely ignore them and I retreated to the car. I took over 500 shots but only have very few keepers. It was overcast and most of the time the birds were just too close(!) and have something clipped but the experience was truly amazing and here is what I've managed to save (shot with Tamron 150-600):

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oPYc​7p

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oPXw​UT

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oxuw​NW

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oQ1d​gp

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oxvb​eg

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/oxuR​Cu

Great set and a great story, thanks for sharing.

Wow, the shots you did get sure tell your story! What an experience that must have been. Were you sitting on a mouse hill or something?

Great series. I think you may have been near a nesting area or rookery. Would explain the behavior of these birds.

More importantly, where was this??!!

Richard

Great catch.

Thanks you all for the comments.

bettyn wrote in post #17108461
Great series. I think you may have been near a nesting area or rookery. Would explain the behavior of these birds.

You are probably right. They do nest in that area and I thought that they really didn't have to come THAT close to have a look at me, so perhaps they were trying to let me know I should go and spend my Wednesday afternoon somewhere else However, I know Red Kites can also be very curious and they will often fly over even from quite far to inspect something that intrigues them.

Richard, these were taken not far from you, in Harewood. I go there regularly and I was aware that there were a few couples over there, but I definitely wasn't expecting to see that many of them.

Beautiful set. Great job

Wonderful series and great job with this BIF shots !

Great set. Particularly like Number 3

Know the area well as I used to live in North Leeds

Excellent set.

Mag-1981 wrote in post #17109521
Richard, these were taken not far from you, in Harewood. I go there regularly and I was aware that there were a few couples over there, but I definitely wasn't expecting to see that many of them.

Ah, OK. I was there a few weeks ago. There are lots in that area, as I'm sure you know Harewood was the site of the Yorkshire reintroduction programme.

Must revisit soon & try just sitting on the hill

Richard

#3 for me too, well done.

Very impressive set.

Thank you. I really appreciate all your comments.

Richard G wrote in post #17110842
Ah, OK. I was there a few weeks ago. There are lots in that area, as I'm sure you know Harewood was the site of the Yorkshire reintroduction programme.

Must revisit soon & try just sitting on the hill

Richard

Haha. Yes, this method is definitely proving to be more efficient than my usual manic runs from one side of the lake to the other . Best of luck.