** Red Kite in Halling **

Today I took a walk down Marsh Road to the river. When I arrived the tide was high so I wasn't expecting to see much on the water. There was only a few birds about, they was Cormorant, Common Gulls, B/H/Gulls, Mallards.
There was more birds in the flooded field on the left going down the road which I checked out on the way back, but the highlight of my day was a bird that had me very very excited, in fact I couldn't wait to tell Pam about it when she came home from town. It has always been my favourite (no1) bird ever since I saw my first one in Wales. As you may have guessed it was the beautiful RED KITE.
I was just approaching the kissing gate at 1:15 when I saw this large bird fly over the salt marsh. I was could see what it was but then when you see something special like this you think to yourself, it can't be, can it? I did managed to get great views of it.
As it passed over the tree's towards the flooded field. I made my way through the gate to scan the area, hoping for another good look at it, but it was now heading in a north easterly direction.
There has been one seen recently up on the north downs, so there is a possibility that it might be the same bird.
I then stopped off at the flood to see the bird there, but all the time thinking about the Kite. There was 4 Shelducks, 4 Gadwall, 5 Moorhen, 1 Coot, 5 Mallard, 1 Grey Heron, and 2 Little Egrets.
So, bright sunshine, nice birds, and a lifer for Halling which was my one hundred and first  species made my day complete.
I have no need to do a Bird of the Day because it is pretty obvious what it would be. I would have to have seen a real rarity to beat the RED KITE but even then I am not so sure it would.
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P.S.  Yesterday afternoon I had a male SPARROWHAWK fly in and land on the feeding pole, sitting there with the sun shining on it was a lovely sight to see.