I’ve seen Kestrels before, and what might have been a Sparrowhawk having a feast in our back garden. Yesterday we were on the M40 and I saw several birds of prey. There was one Kestrel but the rest were larger, higher and a completely different shape – with a V shaped tail like some whales. I thought surely they can only be Kites that must be how they got their name.

Then I looked in my bird book only to find that it (published in 1981) has them only in Wales – so a long way from the M40. But the picture was the only one that fitted! So google for “Birds of Prey sighted in Oxfordshire M40” and lo and behold Red Kite on Wikipedia. They are frequently sighted over the M40 between Oxford and Wycombe – exactly where I saw them!