![]() And the RSPB is right to say that they’re part of Britain’s history. No wonder that photographers visit the area for shots of this beautiful bird. The sight of majestic red kites soaring above the Chiltern Hills is captivating. They have realised that their efforts are futile and given up. Mallard ducks used to nest and rear their young on our pond. Now, red kites will snatch the chicks on the day they emerge.įive years ago my goose’s 11 newly hatched goslings were attacked and carried off by six kites, despite my best efforts. Twenty years ago, my hens could rear their chicks to adulthood, which gave my late wife and me immense enjoyment. Chickens are wonderfully secretive and will disappear to sit on a clutch of eggs safely concealed in a barn, only to reappear three weeks later with a large brood. The red kites threaten my chickens and geese too, which causes great distress. Long-term, the owl’s safety will be jeopardised if there is a shortage of prey. Within five minutes of starting to mow there will be 20-plus red kites circling overhead, intending to hoover up any birds or mammals disturbed by my work. Haymaking is precarious and timing is important. When I’m haymaking, the red kites target the leverets. I have witnessed kites taking songbird fledglings from my garden. This includes field voles and dormice, but also the chicks of ground nesting birds such as skylarks, lapwings, grey partridges and curlews, all of which are on the RSPB’s Red List of great conservation concern. Red kites predate all livestock of a weight they can carry away. While it is true they eat roadkill, earthworms and livestock afterbirth, they also destroy a great deal more than just the ‘occasional’ mammal. The RSPB assures us that red kites feed mainly on carrion and earthworms and, as opportunists, the occasional small mammal. But it’s only a success story if you ignore the devastating effect red kites have had on other wildlife. ![]() The population here had dwindled and the RSPB describes the reintroduction programme as ‘one of the UK’s biggest conservation success stories’. It also provides habitat for hares, skylarks, lapwings and field voles (the staple diet of my resident pair of barn owls) – which is why I am so set against the red kites.īetween 19, red kites from Spain were imported and released into the Chilterns by the RSPB and Natural England. Live prey is usually caught by surprise rather than speed, although kites sometimes make fast, twisting chases.I own a grass farm in the Chilterns which provides grazing for horses and haymaking. They hunt by flying low over open country, using the forked tail to steer, twisting it like a rudder. They will also eat chicks, small mammals and invertebrates such as beetles and earthworms. Red kites eat mainly dead animals that they are able to find (carrion). The young are ready to fly after 48-50 days, but still stay with their parents for a further 7-10 days. By mid-April the female lays up to 4 white eggs, flecked with light brown, which usually hatch after 34 days. Their nests are made from large sticks and are normally lined with wool, which the birds collect along with other unusual items such as pieces of plastic and sometimes even items of clothing. Although easily disturbed by people, kites do not mind other pairs of kites nearby. They will use nests abandoned by other birds, or will build their own in tall trees. In March, they begin to spend more time in suitable nesting areas. The red kites of the Chilterns are a great example of what a successful conservation project can achieve. They’re now surviving and thriving and public support for these beautiful birds is strong. Between 19, kites from Spain were imported and released into the Chilterns by the RSPB and English Nature (now Natural England). In the 1990s a major conservation project saw the successful reintroduction of red kites in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. ![]() By the 1980s, a small remnant population of red kites in Wales had become one of only three globally threatened species in the UK. Persecution intensified in Victorian times and they became extinct in the UK in 1871. They’ve gone from being protected by royal decree in the middle ages because their scavenging abilities helped keep the streets clean, to having a bounty on their head in the 16 th century and being persecuted as ‘vermin’. One of the best places to see them in the UK is the Chilterns.ĭespite their current prevalence, red kites have survived a history of persecution and weathered huge ups and downs in public perception. Red kites are one of Britain’s most magnificent and distinctive birds of prey, with fanned forked tails, a reddish-brown body and a distinctive mewing call. Possibly the most iconic bird of prey of the Chilterns, red kites are a marvel to see circling overhead in the Chiltern Hills
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