I was with Gidzy above Crow Trees Cottage on Grane Road just watching a Sparrowhawk when he caught a large raptor going across from Hog Lowe Pike towards Top O Knoll. Watching it move we realised it was not a Buzzard. It was not particularly high - fairly low in fact. It would circle back. It moved quite slowly and the wing shape and tail looked good for a Marsh Harrier. It would have been hard to have said for certain what the colour was simply because of the distance but maybe subconsciously it registered as a darker colour hence the thought of Buzzard, Marsh Harrier. It never seemed to fly too high. It was almost quite lethargic but clearly not a Buzzard. It might have edged closer to us and was mobbed by a Black-headed Gull whose colour showed very well. As it circled and moved towards Grane Road - I noticed something neither of us had noted - a shallow fork in the tail.
The distance was quite far but it never crossed my mind that the bird was a Kite until the fork showed. Even at this distance I would have thought a Red Kite general jizz would have been evident as they are quite "rakey" and have quite a long tail. It's flight pattern was quite different to the Red Kites I have seen. If it was Red I think the colour would have showed better too.
Due to the distance and the fact that the tail feathers could have been lost it would be hard to say for certain which species it was. I struggle to think it was a Red Kite which is a much needed bird to my Rossendale list. I have seen lots of and lots and lots of Black Kites and they do have this overlap with Marsh Harriers in terms of jizz, behaviour etc at a distance.
I would have thought it could have been a probable Black Kite but can't be proven sadly. It's still a bit early for them - a couple have been reported over Kent and Sussex but the majority seem to arrive mid-April. Half of Lancashire's 6 or so accepted records come from the East of the county so anywhere in Rossendale is possible. Sadly for me, no species is added to my Rossendale list.
-- Edited by sarfraz on Wednesday 7th of April 2021 11:16:18 PM
Thanks. I was hoping you would say 7 April between 10.30-11am.
I have thought about the record and I was sure the first bird was almost certainly a Marsh Harrier and not a Kite. I am assuming a Kite species was present at the time and as the Harrier went out of view a Kite came into view. It is the only thing explanation I have as to why I was sure I was watching a Marsh Harrier and then some how noticed a fork tailed bird in a similar time frame. It is the only explanation as to why I thought it was a Black Kite more likely. Almost certainly a Marsh Harrier and a Kite present but would it be fair to say the Kite was a Red Kite without actually seeing the key features of the bird other than a fork? Probably not.
3 Red Kites together is a very good record for anywhere in Lancashire and certainly Rossendale.
