Milvus milvus – Jill Orme Photography

26 Mar 2026

Insulation

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Warwickshire | 0

R and I went to Compton Verney today, to see the exhibition Bruegel to Rembrandt, which I enjoyed very much. We also had a decent salad lunch in the café, and then I left R catching up on emails and … Continued

31 Jan 2025

Drifting

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Gloucestershire | 0

I nipped up to the owl field early, arriving to lovely light but no owls. On the plus side, as I wandered around the perimeter of the field I spotted a Lesser Redpoll – a bird I’d never seen on … Continued

7 Jan 2025

Raptorous

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Gloucestershire | 0

On my way to the owl field this afternoon, I crested the hill above Guiting Power and found myself driving almost level with a Red Kite that was circling above the valley on my right. Within a couple of seconds … Continued

6 Feb 2024

Game face

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Worcestershire | 0

I had to go to Stratford at lunchtime for repeat blood tests (sigh), and set off in plenty of time, in the hope that I might manage to grab a bird photo somewhere along the river. Instead though, I took … Continued

16 Dec 2023

Christmas spirit

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Gloucestershire, Seasonal, Warwickshire, Wild animals | 0

Well. That was a crazy day. After breakfast R and I went to Waitrose to buy Christmas drinks and a few other bits and pieces, then sat in the café for a while over a leisurely coffee and croissant, doing … Continued

4 Feb 2023

Raptorous

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Worcestershire | 0

The unholy combination of persecution, pesticides, and myxomatosis in rabbits brought red kites to the brink of extinction in the UK by the mid-C20th, and reduced buzzard numbers to maybe a thousand breeding pairs. Despite having had a country childhood, … Continued

27 Feb 2020

Taking a liberty

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Gloucestershire | 0

I’m playing Blipsnap with Hillyblips today – and given that we both photographed this red kite at the owl field towards the end of the afternoon, you can probably guess how co-operative the owls were being. We also papped a … Continued

11 Feb 2019

If you build it they will come

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Wales | 0

Back in the 1980s red kites were extinct in England and Scotland, and there were just a few breeding pairs left in Wales – something that’s hard to remember now, since a stunningly successful reintroduction programme, coupled with legal protection, … Continued

7 Dec 2018

Glider

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Gloucestershire | 0

My usual route up onto the top of the Cotswold scarp takes me past the Cotswold Farm Park, and then up a steep hill, on the far side of which lies the village of Guiting Power. A couple of weeks … Continued

19 Nov 2018

Red Kite

by JDO | posted in: Birds, Gloucestershire | 0

By the time I reached the high Cotswolds this afternoon I had a Bad Feeling: the light was vile, and the wind was howling across the soft top of the MX-5. So when I spotted a red kite hunting over … Continued