Tag Archives: Sunset

Winter solstice sunset

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We went for a walk to a local high point this afternoon to watch the sun set on the winter solstice. It has been a windy day and we felt it as we walked out from the shelter of the trees and onto the ridge above the rolling Northamptonshire countryside.

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the view in the gusty breeze. We watched five red kites playing in the air, hanging on their wings and swooping down to the ploughed fields. As we walked to a good vantage point they flew back and forth across the scene which was starting to be lit by the dipping sun. We stood and watched them quartering the sky and the sun behind become surrounded in an orange haze. A bank of cloud momentarily blocked the view but the sun shone from behind, seemingly unusually large despite being at its furthest from us.

As the sun finally dipped behind the horizon, the kites drifted off to their night-time roost and we wandered back to the car in the increasing darkness.

Red kite roost

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One late afternoon last December, when we were out looking for nacreous clouds, we came across a red kite roost.

These roosts are where red kites gather to rest for the night. They are quite social birds, especially outside of the breeding season. As evening approaches, they come together in groups, often returning to the same roosting spots year after year.

This communal roosting is pretty unique among raptors. They start forming these roosts in early autumn, and as winter sets in, more kites join the group. They might do this to find mates, follow others to food sources, or just enjoy the company of fellow kites.

We were fortunate to stumble across this roost by chance last year and retuned a few times to see the birds come in as the light faded on winter evenings.

Today, was the first time we have been to look this winter and we weren’t disappointed. The sunset was rather lovely and we counted at least 38 kites come into two separate small copses a few hundred metres apart. This was the highest number we have so far counted, so I’m keen to pop back a few times to see if numbers increase further this winter.

A few kites visible in the tree behind the telegraph pole