On 19 April, a bright sunny day with a south-easterly wind, I was involved in a photo session in my field with professional photographer, Sarah Farnsworth. However, one of the great attractions of birdwatching is that the unexpected is always a possibility. Raptors range from Marsh Harrier to Merlin and Goshawk (I do live in the Brecks), but I’m still waiting for my first Honey Buzzard. There have been a few goodies over the years, including Wood Sandpiper and Stone-curlew, Red-backed Shrike and Wryneck. It hardly looks the most promising of bird habitats, but in a good year I have recorded more than 100 species, while the accumulative total for the 14 years I have lived here is 136 The latter is the immediate vicinity of my home: a paddock that I manage for Barn Owls and Tree Sparrows, surrounded by arable fields producing onions, potatoes, barley and maize. Though they may not breed locally, I see them regularly in the county, and every year I get an increasing number of records from my patch. I live in Suffolk, where these handsome birds have yet to establish themselves, though they are sure to do so soon, as the number of breeding pairs in nearby Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire continues to increase. Thanks to the most successful raptor reintroduction project in the world, the Red Kite has become a familiar bird for many of us. Could Black Kites become a regular sighting in the UK and ultimately breed here? David Tomlinson thinks so…
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