Kites in a tree.

Another grey miserable day. Armed with camera I decided to drive to some nearby forestry to walk the dogs. On the way I spotted some Red Kites and stopped the car to take some photos. They were a little too far and were flying away. Drove on a few hundred yards and spotted a pair in a tree and managed to get close enough to take a few shots with one of them airing its wings. They are beautiful birds particularly in flight and commonest raptor seen in West Wales. Hard to believe that 25 years ago they had been hunted close to extinction in the UK with just a few pairs left in Wales. Their re emergence is a testament to the success of conservation.
It is almost a shame to convert the image to monochrome as part of the Mono February challenge so I've included a colour edited version in the extras.