Red Kite
The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers.
The Red Kite is 24 to 28 inches long with a 70 inch wingspan. It is an elegant bird, soaring on long wings and a long forked tail which twists as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous, the breast is streaked black and the white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondary feathers. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar but juveniles have a buff breast and belly.
The Red Kite inhabits broadleaf woodlands and valleys up to around 2,600 feet. It is endemic to the western Palearctic with the European population of 19,000 to 25,000 pairs comprising 95% of its global breeding range. It breeds from Spain and Portugal east into central Europe and Ukraine, north to southern Sweden, the Baltic states and the UK and south to southern Italy. There is also a population in northern Morocco. Northern birds move south in winter, mostly staying in the west of the breeding range but also moving to eastern Turkey, northern Tunisia and Algeria.
The UK is the only country in which the Red Kite population is increasing. The three largest populations in Germany, France and Spain, which together hold more than 75% of the global population, have decreased significantly. The main threats are poisoning, through illegal direct poisoning and indirect poisoning from pesticides, and changes in agricultural practices causing a reduction in food resources. Other threats include electrocution, hunting and trapping, deforestation, egg-collection and possibly competition with the generally more successful Black Kite.
In the UK, the Red Kite was a ubiquitous scavenger in medieval times that lived on carrion and rubbish. However, by the 20th century the breeding population was restricted to just a handful of pairs in mid Wales. It was saved from national extinction by the successful implementation of protection and re-introduction schemes at various sites in England and Scotland. In England the re-introduced birds can be found in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Yorkshire, the Gateshead and Newcastle area and the Grizedale Forest in Cumbria. The Scottish population is centred around the release sites in Dumfries and Galloway, around Stirling and west Perthshire, around the Black Isle north of Inverness and on the outskirts of Aberdeen.
In 1999 the Red Kite was named “Bird of the Century” by the BTO and according to the Welsh Kite Trust it has been voted "Wales's favourite bird". As of 2011, non-breeding birds are regularly seen in all parts of the UK and the number of breeding pairs is too large for the RSPB to continue to survey them on an annual basis.
The Red Kite's diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares and rabbits but it also feeds on a wide variety of carrion including sheep carcasses and dead game birds. Live birds are also taken and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Earthworms form an important part of the diet, especially in spring.
In some parts of mid-Wales Red Kites are regularly fed by humans. This has a dual purpose: it is intended to help sustain and increase the population through the provision of extra food and it also acts as a tourism draw. Locations at which this takes place include Gigrin Farm feeding centre near Rhayader where between 200 and 500 kites visit per day, the Nant-yr-Arian feeding centre near Ponterwyd and the Black Mountain feeding centre at Llanddeusant in the Brecon Beacons.
Date: 4th May 2023
Location: Bwlch Nant yr Arian, Llywernog, Ceredigion
The Red Kite is 24 to 28 inches long with a 70 inch wingspan. It is an elegant bird, soaring on long wings and a long forked tail which twists as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous, the breast is streaked black and the white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondary feathers. Apart from the weight difference, the sexes are similar but juveniles have a buff breast and belly.
The Red Kite inhabits broadleaf woodlands and valleys up to around 2,600 feet. It is endemic to the western Palearctic with the European population of 19,000 to 25,000 pairs comprising 95% of its global breeding range. It breeds from Spain and Portugal east into central Europe and Ukraine, north to southern Sweden, the Baltic states and the UK and south to southern Italy. There is also a population in northern Morocco. Northern birds move south in winter, mostly staying in the west of the breeding range but also moving to eastern Turkey, northern Tunisia and Algeria.
The UK is the only country in which the Red Kite population is increasing. The three largest populations in Germany, France and Spain, which together hold more than 75% of the global population, have decreased significantly. The main threats are poisoning, through illegal direct poisoning and indirect poisoning from pesticides, and changes in agricultural practices causing a reduction in food resources. Other threats include electrocution, hunting and trapping, deforestation, egg-collection and possibly competition with the generally more successful Black Kite.
In the UK, the Red Kite was a ubiquitous scavenger in medieval times that lived on carrion and rubbish. However, by the 20th century the breeding population was restricted to just a handful of pairs in mid Wales. It was saved from national extinction by the successful implementation of protection and re-introduction schemes at various sites in England and Scotland. In England the re-introduced birds can be found in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Yorkshire, the Gateshead and Newcastle area and the Grizedale Forest in Cumbria. The Scottish population is centred around the release sites in Dumfries and Galloway, around Stirling and west Perthshire, around the Black Isle north of Inverness and on the outskirts of Aberdeen.
In 1999 the Red Kite was named “Bird of the Century” by the BTO and according to the Welsh Kite Trust it has been voted "Wales's favourite bird". As of 2011, non-breeding birds are regularly seen in all parts of the UK and the number of breeding pairs is too large for the RSPB to continue to survey them on an annual basis.
The Red Kite's diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares and rabbits but it also feeds on a wide variety of carrion including sheep carcasses and dead game birds. Live birds are also taken and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Earthworms form an important part of the diet, especially in spring.
In some parts of mid-Wales Red Kites are regularly fed by humans. This has a dual purpose: it is intended to help sustain and increase the population through the provision of extra food and it also acts as a tourism draw. Locations at which this takes place include Gigrin Farm feeding centre near Rhayader where between 200 and 500 kites visit per day, the Nant-yr-Arian feeding centre near Ponterwyd and the Black Mountain feeding centre at Llanddeusant in the Brecon Beacons.
Date: 4th May 2023
Location: Bwlch Nant yr Arian, Llywernog, Ceredigion
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