Birds of Prey are a real passion of mine and I am lucky to live in an area where there are plenty of Red Kites and Buzzards so get the opportunity to photograph them on a regular basis. All the images in the post were taken in or around Letcombe Regis, Wantage, Oxfordshire.
The red kite disappeared from England and Scotland at the end of the nineteenth century.
In 1989, the Nature Conservancy Council (now known in England as ‘Natural England’) and the RSPB launched a project to reintroduce the red kite back into England and Scotland.
Chicks were brought over from Spain under strict regulations and reintroduced into the Chilterns. The first successful breeding in the UK was noted in 1992 and since then numbers have increased to approximately 400-500 breeding pairs.
Kites are still actively monitored
Red Kites can often be seen being chased by crows. This image gained a Silver Award with the SWPP.
Some Red Kite Chicks were fitted with wing tags and ringed they contain a unique identification number and colour coding which identifies where the chick was released and when. If I see a tagged bird I report it and often get sent the details back. This bird White/Blue 69 was one of a brood of three nestlings tagged at Park Wood near Oundle, Northants in June 2010. It had also been recorded in a pre roost gathering at Fermyn Hall Park 7th October 2010.
The kite will adapt its diet according to local conditions – it is an opportunistic feeder and a scavenger – feeding mainly on carrion. They can often be spotted in fields hunting. Here are two kites in a stubble field searching for Carrion.
Kites are often seen chasing each other and flying in unison. This often takes place between pairs bonding, although sometimes there seems to be no particular reason for this, except for ‘play’ which may improve flying skills.
The wing span of the Red Kite is between 5-5.5 Ft
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