Blogs

We were pleased to find a Turtle Dove out by the wildlife hide earlier in the week. These smart birds, whose purring coos used to be as much a sign of the summer in the South and East as swallows have in recent years suffered a marked decline. Numbers have dropped by three quarters in the last 30 years, due to changes in farming practise and hunting along their migration routes.

 Today is the first day of 'Red Kite Week', a series of events run by ourselves and the Forestry Commission to highlight the success story that is the east midlands kite reintroduction scheme. And of course the stars of the show are the kite chicks, now growing rapidly and visible in big screens both in the RSPB shop and in the Big Barn. Events during the week include:

• Saturday - Red Kite Ramble
• Sunday & Monday - Family Fun Days
• Tuesday - Talk about the Rockingham Forest kites (FC event)
• Wednesday - Red Kite Kite building (FC event)
• Thursday - Talk about red kites nationally 
• Friday - Birdwatching for Beginners courses, including how to find kites
• Saturday - Red Kite Ramble

We are also excited to announce that the red kite nest camera footage will shortly be visible on the Forestry Commission's website.

The question that was posed in the last post was soon forthcoming. When mum got off the nest yesterday, three little white fluffy heads were to be seen. So thats all three chicks out of the egg and looking healthy, despite the somewhat miserable weather. Mum is mostly sitting tight, but when Dad comes in with some food (today it looked like a pigeon that'd had an argument with a car and lost) Mum gets up and the chicks can be seen.

 If you are considering coming down for a visit, we are signposted off the A43. This coming Wednesday could be a good day if you are getting interested in birdwatching as we are having an optics demonstration day. Expert advice will be on hand, and you can try out all the latest models. From budget binoculars for beginners to the latest in high-tech scopes for the more experienced wildlife watcher.

The weather might have taken a turn for the worse, with the blue and sunny skies of last week being replaced by something altogether more grey and drizzly. But there are sunny smiles on the faces of the centre staff as the nest camera is up and rolling. The technical crew from the Forestry Commission have set everything up, and the first footage has been beaming into the RSPB centre. We are very pleased to report that everything looks to be going swimmingly. Mum is on the nest and when dad came in with some food, when she moved we were able to see two small white balls of fluff, the chicks! Mum then very carefully tore up the mouse that had been brought in and fed it to the chicks, all watched by an admiring audience back here.

The chicks themselves are still very small, at the most a day or two old. Which brings up an intriguing question. There is what appears to be a egg in the nest. Is this an egg that is yet to hatch? Or is it the remains of the shell from one of the existing chick's eggs that hasn't been cleared out of the nest yet. Kites usually lay 2 or 3 eggs, and last year this pair raised three healthy youngsters, so we might yet have another happy event to look forward to.

What cracking weather we've been having. The sun has been shining and the skies have been blue. And with the warm weather has come the birds of prey. Both buzzards and kites have been using the thermals to ride hide above the centre, giving visitors some excellant views.

 The commonest question we are getting at the moment is "When will the red kite nest camera be on?". Well, we have good news. RS Components has kindly donated a large amount of cabling so the technical expert from the Forestry Commission is coming to connect it all together on Thursday. So soon we'll be able to see what our red kite pair have been up to since last year. Will they be as successful as last year, when they raised three healthy youngsters? We are agog with anticipation.

 In the meantime, there is still plenty to see here. Last weekend's dawn chorus walk produced quite a varied mix of birds, from the tradiitonal woodland species such as whitethroat and great spotted woodpeckers, to slightly more unusual sightings such as mallard and hobby. So do come along, you never know what you'll see!