A Pair Of Scavengers

This dead tree stump is a couple of fields away and I can't get a very clear view of it from the bank of our neighbour's lake but I spotted a red kite perched on it in the golden hour this afternoon. I first saw red kites flying in this area in 2015 but this is the first that I have seen perched close to home. I noticed the magpie nearby.

The big bird took off while the magpie watched from below. I then photographed the magpie as it flew immediately to the top of the stump and got another shot of another magpie flying to join it. If you look closely at my image what looks like a rib bone can be seen. Kites are scavengers, they're not great hunters like buzzards. They live mainly on road kill and carrion. Years ago when they were plentiful it used to be a crime to kill them because they cleared up rubbish.