I watched it for as long as I could crane my neck to see the kite whilst still riding safely on towards the T junction at the top of the now easing climb.Įither direction from the junction ultimately leads to a thrilling, long descent, but here I turn left and follow the signs towards Middleton-on-the-Wolds. The bird appeared overhead to my right and glided over the road without a single wing beat. The road out of Warter also gave me my second and final Red Kite sighting of the day. For me there is a greater sense of openness, the road wider and the views – especially over and down to the left – are much more pleasant. As an aside I find this a far more rewarding climb than Nunburnholme Hill – another road that leads to the same ridge. Again at the B1246 in the village a right turn is followed quickly by a left turn, opposite the pond, and the start of an always enjoyable climb along Bailey Lane. In Huggate a right turn before the Wolds Inn leads back to Warter over Warter Wold. Bailey Lane is also the way out of Warter after the detour via Huggate. Looking back on the first hill out of Warter with Bailey Dale beyond. (The route could be shortened by cutting out Huggate, instead going past the war memorial, travelling east for a minute or so then carefully taking the right turn whilst still in Warter opposite the pond.) A right turn on the B1246 is quickly followed a hundred yards or so later with a left turn and the start of a long, gradual climb from Warter to Cold Wold on the way to Huggate. After the village sign on the outskirts of Warter I prefer to bear left (signposted Pocklington) rather than pass by the distinctive cottages opposite the war memorial. The skies above the woods on the approach to Warter – take care on the undulating road with its rough surface in parts – are usually a safe bet for spotting birds of prey, but I saw none here this day. I also had to switch off the auto-pilot that would have steered me towards Kilnwick Percy or Pocklington, but it was less of a wrench to take the back road to Warter at the foot of Totterdown (Nunburnholme) Hill – that climb is one I no longer care for. Here I saw the unmistakable markings of a solitary Red Kite over Goodmanmham Wold some way in the distance to the north.įlooding around Goodmanham meant I had to divert through Market Weighton before picking up the route towards Londesborough then Burnby and Nunburnholme. The ‘Kiplingcotes’ sign that once pointed further north has been missing for a while now, but we’re turning left on to a lumpy road and heading for Goodmanham.
That route is followed over the next crossroads before ramping up for another at Money Hill. The route is a little under forty miles long.įrom Etton the route goes gently upwards before dropping in to the shallow Kiplingcotes valley, over the crossroads and up again, passing the start point of the Kiplingcotes Derby. So I thought I’d put together a ride that takes in most of the places where I’ve spotted Red Kite. Over the past few years I have noticed these magnificent birds more frequently whilst cycling around particular parts of the Yorkshire Wolds. A map confirmed that areas where Red Kite could be found all year round were limited to Wales.Ĭompare that to the map on the Yorkshire Red Kites web site that also details the reintroduction programme of 1999 at Harewood Estate in West Yorkshire. Yes, you can find all the up-to-date information you need – and more – on the Internet these days, but when I wanted to carry out some research about the UK distribution of Red Kite I was interested to read a contemporary account from the time when I was a child. Week by week the collection would build up in to a pile of magazines that went in a cardboard box to be stored in the loft for the next three decades.
RED KITE FARMS LTD FULL
Back then I collected the full Orbis publication ‘The Encyclopedia Of Birds’.
I was a member of the Young Ornithologists’ Club before I joined the Cyclists’ Touring Club as a schoolboy and for me the experience of appreciating Yorkshire Wolds wildlife has been a vital part of cycling in and around the area.
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