Black Kites

I love watching the Black Kites soar and glide on the wind currents. There are loads of these majestic birds all around Wakayama. To begin with, during the first few days here, I confused the ones over the river with Ospreys - well it's common to see Ospreys near water, and just thought that the ones in the city around the castle were kites. But now I've found out more about birds of the region I can tell you that they are all Black Kites.

These large(ish) birds of prey aren't actually black but are dark brown, but they are more black than their cousins the Red Kites (which are now quite common in High Wycombe where my family are.) Black Kites are pretty communal birds and down by the coast near Kada you can see 8 or 10 at the same time, all swooping and soaring up and down, round and round. It must be a wonderful life, at least in the summer. Where do they go in the winter? I don't know if I'll see them here then too. I hope so. I've also been surprised here to actually here them "crying". Quite often on a calm afternoon you'll hear them calling. Are they calling to each other? or just fighting with the local crows? I have no idea but hearing them is initially quite bone-numbing - an almost prehistoric cry, kind of like a pterodactyl. At first I thought it was a young child or maybe a kitten crying but after a while I realised I was totally mistaken.
One of the things that has really surprised me about the Black Kites is their ability to fish. They have adapted perfectly to this water-rich environment and can be seen fishing both down by the sea and over the rivers around town, which leads me back to why I should have blogged this yesterday. Rafa and I were on our way to the gym when we saw a Black Kite flying low over the houses near the river we cross. All of a sudden the bird disappeared behind the houses and by the time we got to the bridge we saw it coming back up with something between its talons. It swooped and circled a bit, allowing us to get closer and I was able to see that it had a little fish in its left claw. After a couple of minutes it went up onto the roof of a large factory and started its meal. And we went off to the gym. Why is this wonderful? Well, kites are really supposed to favour carrion rather than live food but here they have really adapted to fishing. It's great to see. They really are fabulous birds. I love birds of prey and seeing them daily is just a pleasure for me and is one of the main delights of living in Wakayama. The Black Kites seem to move in zones - for a while I saw them over the main river every morning as I went to work. Then I went through a period of time seeing them while I was waiting for the train at the station, but not near the river. Then I was seeing them near the house in the afternoon. Then there was a week or so when I didn't see them at all. Luckily over the last few days they have appeared back near the house about mid afternoon. Wonderful birds. What a treat!

Originally written on 26th July 2004.