Sand's Nature Walks: Red Kite Feeding Centre & Usk Reservoir

For years I have wanted to visit the Red Kite Feeding Station in Llanddeusant, situated within the Black Mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It was the start of my week off so we thought, why not?

It's almost an hours drive from Swansea and arguably the most scenic route to take is through Pontardawe, then Brynamman and over the breathtaking Black Mountains. As we drove through the mountains we saw a few red kites hovering above us, we pulled over into a safe lay-by and tried to get a pic. Unfortunately they were too high to get a decent pic but we knew within minutes we would see a sight we would never forget.

We got to the Station around 1.30pm and parked in the car park next to a building called 'The Red Kite' which was a cafe and gift shop (unfortunately it wasn't open when we were there and I wonder if it is permanently closed or just for the winter?).

A sign pointing where to go...

The hides are situated 250m down the road on the right hand side, passing the Caravan Park on the left. As we made our way to the hides we could see red kites already hovering above us and, because it was a beautiful clear day, you could see their magnificent colours reflected in the sunlight. There were 3 hides - the middle one was an indoor one with seating, the left and right ones were outside ones without seats - and we opted for the left one, as we didn't mind standing and the view seemed better.

A number of red kites were already circling above.

The gate you enter to go to the hides.

Feeding time was 2pm (it's 3pm in BST) and we could already see at least 20 red kites hovering above and perching in faraway trees - they obviously knew what was coming up and couldn't wait for their treat. As we waited in the hide it began to fill up and just before 2pm both the left and inside hides were totally full. We were relieved to have gotten there early and obtained a good spot. As we were waiting the owner came in to collect our money, which was a very reasonable fee of £3 per adult, £2.50 OAP & £1.50 child.

The red kites wait patiently in the nearby trees.

Just after 2pm he appeared again on the field in front of us with a large bucket full of meat and started throwing the contents (20lbs in total!) on the ground. Within minutes the red kites were diving down, even when he was still throwing the meat. We couldn't believe it - it started with one or two kites, then a few more - before we knew it that were over 30 red kites swooping down and collecting their prize.

Feeding the red kites.

It was amazing to see their agility and viewing them so close was just fantastic - they are definitely one of Wales' best looking birds. Check out the video below to see them getting fed...

It was tricky getting photos of the ones swooping down but there was one cheeky kite that stayed grounded throughout the feed, giving us great photo opportunities...

So lucky he stayed grounded, you can really see the fantastic markings :)

Within 20 minutes most of the food had disappeared and when the red kites appeared to have gone other birds came down to enjoy the leftovers: magpies, crows, even a chaffinch.


A carrion crow gets in on the action...

The owner came back into the hides to give us all leaflets and to tell us there were videos online and to check them out on Facebook. There were only about seven people left now and he said if we all stood at the back of the inside hide the red kites would come back thinking the 'humans' had gone. So that's what we all did, within minutes they were back, swooping down for any last remnants of the meat - I actually got some decent pics from the hide...


Red kites in flight

A red kite flies away with it's meaty treat

Mesmerized by the kites, I noticed a bird perched on a fence and realised it wasn't a red kite. I zoomed in on the camera and realised it was another bird of prey - I was pretty sure it was a buzzard but wasn't 100% sure. So that evening I sent the pic to the respected wildlife photographer Simon King on Twitter and in the morning he replied with this tweet:

@sandraevans Hi Sandra. 100% correct, buzzard (Buteo buteo) it is! Pale phase.
— Simon King (@TVsSimonKing) March 5, 2014

Here is the photo of the buzzard I tweeted to Simon King - such a beautiful bird.

Once the red kites started to fly away we knew it was time to go. We walked back up the road and as we looked up there were still many kites circling around. We got back to the Red Kite building and realised that across the road there was a stunning view of the Black Mountain. As we started taking photos of the landscape the red kites were once again above us and we couldn't resist taking some more pics.

The stunning view of the Black Mountain

The red kites were flying so low you could get some great pics!

After a fantastic experience that I would recommend to every bird lover we headed back to the car. I would definitely do this experience again and knowing that there is a camp site on it's doorstep its the perfect place to go camping in the summer. The only downside was that the cafe/gift shop was closed, it would have been nice to get a memento and maybe a cuppa. Perhaps next time they will be open. Apart from this the day was perfect, after all these birds are wild and there's no guarantee they will come down, so to see so many in one place was mind blowing!

For more information on the Red Kite Feeding Station check out their website here & their Facebook page here - Also for more general information on red kites read this on Wikipedia

5 facts on Red Kites:

In the 1930s there were only two breeding pairs of red kites, both in Wales
Road-kill plays an important part of the diet (eg. pheasants, rabbits and squirrels)
Red kites usually breed for the first time at 2 or 3 years old and they usually pair for life
When the hatchlings are young the female can signal for them to play dead when a predator is near
They live in a wide range of habitats from woodlands and valleys to wetland edges and rough pastures

Usk Reservoir & Mynydd Myddfai Walk

Once back in the car we decided to go to Usk Reservoir as it wasn't far away. Usk Reservoir is situated in the Brecon Beacons National park and took five years to build - it was opened by HM Queen Elizabeth and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh on 6 August 1955.

We parked in the car park near the dam, which had space for many cars. The time was getting on so we didn't walk all the way around the reservoir (which is a 5 miles circular route), but instead crossed the dam and took a forest path up to the Mynydd Myddfai trig point. The views were spectacular and you could even see Pen Y Fan and Carreg Cennen Castle - a really pleasant walk that was about 6 miles. Here are some pics from the walk...