Duration
Seven nights
When
Summer 2023
Why?
Good walking in fine scenery, with plenty of beautiful birdlife to observe
One moment, the panoramic skies above Rhayader in Mid-Wales were empty, then the next, they were filled with hundreds of magnificent red kites, all circling around effortlessly above our heads.
We were standing in a field at Gigrin Farm, an RSPB-approved feeding and rehabilitation centre for red kites, waiting for these once-endangered, now thriving, birds of prey to swoop down and enjoy their daily quota of beef.
Feeding the red kites
It’s truly breathtaking to see so many of them in one place, seeming to float then suddenly pouncing to retrieve their share of the feast.
The meat is provided by the Powell family, who also run a sheep farm. Apparently, some of the birds travel up to 40 miles from other parts of Wales for their free afternoon tea!
The beef rations are to supplement, rather than replace, their self-sourced daily diet of roadkill, worms, insects, small mammals and amphibians.
The Powells were first approached by the RSPB to start feeding the red kites about 30 years ago. Their success
