Red Kites Near Corby

With a luxurious amount of annual leave left in desperate need of being used due to fewer skate trips than originally planned last year, I booked a few four day weekends before the end of March so as not to forfeit the time at the beginning of the new financial year. As I have commitments on both Saturday & Sunday I thought I would spend some time today getting back to a bird I confess I have a bit of a thing for. 
I've seen red kites in great number in the hills above Lintzford & Shotley Bridge when visiting my brother in County Durham. Their reintroduction has in fact been a huge success in the north east and the local busses are branded with both the bird's name and likeness.
On a skate trip to Corby late last year, I was astonished when I saw a pair high in the sky on the left of the A6116 near Sudborough. They grappled and spun down to 10 feet before separating and gliding back up, up and out of site. I did force the car load of eager skaters to stop for five minutes so I could check them out further, but a skate was on and we were only five minutes from the park!
On this occasion, I planned my assault and after only three hours of searching two other reliable sites I found myself in the car on the back roads in the wooded hills around the same area I'd previously seen the birds. Don't trust the internet.
With half of an eye on the sky I caught a glimpse of a finger-like wing tip between two cottages and slowed to an almost stop and sure enough, the silhouette of a very large bird passed over the road and woods to my right. I found a parking spot, donned coat, hat & gloves and set off up a track beside Small Wood. I was glad of the gloves an hour or so later!
I heard cries in the trees well before seeing another kite, but the calls quickly led me to their exact location which was a large oak 20 feet within the thick woodland. As I approached slowly and with as little sound as possible, one flew right over my head and soared into the field on my right. I froze. The bird flew a few wide circles before heading back over/into the trees. After a lot of calling three birds appeared and circled me at what seemed to be only a few feet above my head for about ten minutes, all the while I could hear calling & replying to and from another kite, unseen in the distance somewhere. 
This forth bird eventually appeared and joined the group noisily. As I walked back to the car I spotted another perched at the very top of a tree lower in the valley. This one took to flight and joined the others in the trees after soaring over me. 

I was disappointed to find that the internet was correct in telling me that the Red Kite Centre at Stanwick Lakes had closed and there wasn't a bird in sight that wasn't sitting on water. I did take shelter from one of many strong showers sitting alone for a while in a hide by one of the lakes. A few grebe and tufted ducks dived in front of me. Various gulls and what I think were cormorants we just visible in the distance along with the odd canada goose and bevy of swans. Very peaceful but all too far for my meagre zoom lens. As I circled the small pond next to the car park I did spot a pair of oystercatchers silently sifting the sodden grass on the bank.