The chicks hatched in early May and I watched on the monitors as the pair brought in food for them. But this one was taking turns to keep the eggs warm at least three times a day. According to the textbooks, males are only known to help incubate eggs occasionally. These were beautiful, white, speckled with dark chocolate-coloured flecks. By April the female red kite had laid three eggs, each one three days after the other. ![]() For the next three months, I watched the action via monitors. By the end of February all was ready and my remote cameras began to roll. It was so tall I had to concrete its base into the ground to protect it from strong winds. Once my cameras were safely installed, I dismantled my tower and then rebuilt it roughly 20 metres away, this time placing a hide at the top. The most depressing thing of all was seeing them bring in the very latest type of litter: Covid masks. They weaved tissue paper, wet wipes, baler twine, pieces of rubble sacking and even a cardboard box into the nest. I cleared the litter before leaving, but over the course of this project the kites just kept on bringing in more. It’s not known if they do this to insulate the nest or purely for decoration.īut the plastic worried me, since it can make things damp. Red kites are known to scavenge odd bits to line their nests and I’ve heard of them collecting socks, flags, and even underwear. But once I was up there, I discovered heaps of rubbish inside. I built a 15 metre scaffold tower to reach the nest. That winter, with the nest empty, I came up with a plan to install remote cameras. This one was enormous, a sign that the pair were established here. So when I discovered a nest in the upper branches of a lofty larch tree, I got a special licence from Natural England to film the action up close. Red kites often use the same nest, adding more building material as they go and their nests can be huge. Red kite pair | Original acrylic painting | Robert E Fuller Red kites’ lofty nests And yet I still feel a thrill when I see one soaring in the skies above the Yorkshire Wolds. But in the last 20 years they have made an extraordinary comeback. There were just a handful of pairs in the whole country and none at all here in Yorkshire. These beautiful birds of prey were a rare sight when I was growing up. So the future looks good for collectors, who will have more to choose from each year.I’ve just finished a new painting of red kites. The good news is that production of these magnificent, porcelain and decorative pieces, are still being developed, and produced to this day, albeit, from a new studio location. Please be aware that there may be from time to time slight colour variation between the stock pictures used and the actual product in real life.īeswick Pottery started in 1894 located at Gold Street in Longton Stoke-on-Trent, and has become famous worldwide, for producing fine ceramic models, and exquisite gifts.ĭuring its lifetime, the company has changed hands a few times, and in 2004, the Beswick name and product design rights, have been acquired by the Dartington Crystal group. ![]()
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