Red Kites Harewood

My first attempt at photographing a red kite was quite a few years ago now at my Mum's farm, I stood in a large hedge watching the Kites flying past while the tractors were cutting the hay fields.

I couldn't get close to the Kites and when they did fly close by the lighting usually wasn't correct and due to the size of the fields they spent more time away from me than close to me.

I started taking my camera to Harewood and walking round the outside of the estate where I got much closer to the birds.

I chatted to an old Guy who had mentioned a local woman was feeding the kites and in the afternoons several kites would mass to feed over her house. Just after that the Muddy Boots Cafe opened and they started feeding the red kites on the rooftops of the garages (at about 3 - 4pm).

I'm still in two minds about whether people should be feeding the kites, but it is a great place to take some shots as they swoop down and get incredibly close and you can pretty much control the light direction.