Red Kites - part 1
Three Days away - in Wales
Those of you who follow my blog regularly, will know that I get let out for good behaviour for three days photography each year - something that started as a present from my wife, but now (amazingly) seems to have become part of our annual calendar. You will also know that I tend to use these three days to go the north east - to visit the Farne Islands, Lindisfarne and, if I am lucky, Bass Rock.
In July 2014 I fancied something a bit different. After a lot of consideration - trying to find an equivalent trip where the chance of getting a significant number of photos is really quite high - I plumped for a trip to Pembrokeshire in Wales. I was to spend my days on Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire Coast, take some sunset photos in the evening (after all, looking out to sea I would be facing west) and add a bit of variety on the way home by calling at Gigrin Farm to photograph Red Kites.
So I made all the arrangements I could, booking a campsite very close to Martin's Haven, where you catch the boat to Skomer. I booked a place in one of the photographic hides at Gigrin Farm for my final day and planned my journey down to arrive between 8.00 and 8.30 am in time to queue for the boat to Skomer - you can't book tickets in advance. I would spend the first day on Skomer, then go and pitch my tent, finishing day one with a few sunset photos on the local beach.
With fingers crossed I set off very early in the morning on the long drive to Wales! I had high hopes as the sky was largely clear, and I made good time, arriving just before 8.30 at Martin's Haven car park. Unfortunately, that is where my plans had to change!
Whilst the sky was blue, I hadn't accounted for the strength of the wind. It turned out that the boat hadn't run for a couple of days, and certainly wasn't running that day. It might not run the following day either!!
I quickly reviewed my plans. I decided to put my tent up straight away, and after making a few calls I switched my itinerary around completely. The weather looked pretty good back inland. A visit to Gigrin Farm is really an afternoon thing anyway so I had plenty of time to get there. Trying hard to forget the trip I had just made, I retraced part of my journey before deviating towards mid Wales and Gigrin Farm. Day 1 would now be Red Kites!
Red Kites - part 1
Gigrin Farm is a Red Kite feeding and rehabilitation centre in mid Wales - whilst there now a few other feeding stations this is the original and is a well established site for a great wildlife spectacular - from tens to hundreds of wild birds are fed at 3pm (2pm in winter) every day of the year except for Christmas Day!!
The centre has a number of hides from which the feeding can be viewed, but also has a number specifically designed for photography. The tallest of these is called the Big Tower Hide - accommodating 6 people with tripods, or 8 without - I had a place booked in this hide.
This first image is taken from the Big Tower Hide and shows a number of the other hides that are available.
The main view from the hide is over an open field, with a circular track for the tractor and trailor that brings the meat to attract the birds. At this stage, you don't get any idea of the spectacular that is about to unfold in front of you.
As you can see there is plenty of room in the Big Tower Hide!
A number of Kites start to circle even before the food arrives. But that's nothing to the number that come later - hundreds of birds circle around before swooping down to get food, or to attack the crows that also gather, taking their food instead.
The light wasn't particularly helpful at first, with a lot of white cloud in the sky.
When the sun went behind the clouds for any length of time, it was best to focus on the birds that swooped down for food, when the grass provided a more pleasing background that a washed out sky. The birds are remarkably quick and it takes some practice to get reasonable shots.
I particularly like this close up image of a bird rising again after swopping down for food. I love the mottled colouring of these magnificent birds!
But the light soon picked up, allowing for some better flight shots - with the birds coming quite close overhead! More of these in subsequent posts.