Western Morning News (Saturday)
LET’S GO SPY A KITE
Sightings in the Westcountry are increasing
I’m not sure why I looked up at that moment. I had been following a path that wound through a Dartmoor valley, scanning the stony ground ahead, when I raised my eyes to the sky.
Perhaps I was simply stretching my neck, or a movement at the periphery of my vision caught my attention. Either way I found myself staring at a bird of prey flying slowly in my direction along the rocky ridge ahead of me.
A large raptor in this part of Britain is invariably a buzzard, however the silhouette was different – larger and more elongated. I quickly lifted my binoculars and found myself looking at a red kite, sailing in a leisurely fashion over the moorland as if in no hurry to be anywhere in particular.
Birds of prey can be tricky to tell apart, being generally grey to brown and streaky underneath with wings that are either thin and pointy or broad and raggedy. Often viewed at a distance, their subtle plumage characteristics may be hard to discern, so size, shape and behaviour become important factors.
But when it comes to the red kite, it makes life easy by having a tell-tale tail which helps distinguish it from buzzards, harriers, hawks, eagles and the like. Unlike the blunt end of a buzzard, the more elegant kite is unique in having a fork in the tail.
Good views also show that it is noticeably reddish-brown, as the name suggests, and, viewed from below, it has a lighter patch near the tip of the wing.
The red kite was a common bird in centuries past, even scavenging on the streets of London. But relentless persecution wiped them out in England and Scotland during the 19th century, and only a tiny handful clung on in Wales as the species teetered on the brink of extinction in Britain by the early 20th century.
Seemingly against the odds the Welsh population gradually increased, and when I was young that was the place to visit to see these agile and long-winged birds of prey.
Since then the red kite has made a comeback in scattered areas through protection as well as reintroduction schemes in areas including Buckinghamshire and the East Midlands, and today Britain is home to several thousand pairs.
However, while there are plenty to be seen in Wales and central England – and it is hard to miss them when driving along the M40 or taking a train through Reading – they do not breed in the Westcountry.
Much like tourists, they do visit this corner of Britain in spring and summer. And sightings are something to savour. Not just because of their striking appearance, but there is also something about their former rarity which sets them apart. For myself, and those who remember how scarce they once were, a red kite is always a special bird to spot.
Kevin Rylands, the Devon bird recorder, says that red kites can be seen throughout the year in the Westcountry, though the peak times are April to June, with May averaging more than 140 sightings across the county.
“They don’t tend to breed until three or four years old, so these are usually first or second-year birds that are wandering around,” he said.
They are believed to come from the breeding populations in southern England, with rising annual reports by local birdwatchers matching an increase in numbers in their strongholds. A few may also drift over from the Continent.
By the autumn they have worked their way back to the areas where they were born, roosting together in the colder months, and Devon and Cornwall sightings tend to tail off over winter.
Given red kites now breed in Wiltshire and Dorset, there is every chance that in future they will nest in the Westcountry, Kevin said, and it was possible with increasing numbers coming our way that more birds over-winter here and set up breeding territories.
“I keep expecting to finally get a call from someone to say they are nesting, and it is not out of the question that they could already be doing so in less watched areas,” he said.
In the days when they were far rarer, red kites from the isolated Welsh population regularly turned
up on Exmoor, and Kevin suspects suitable wooded habitat there might entice birds to settle. “Then again given how many you get in and around the suburbs of Reading, they may be far less fussy,” he said.
According to The Birds of Devon by Michael Tyler, the only confirmed breeding in the county was way back in 1912-13 at Dartmeet, with suspected breeding in the Kingsbridge area in 1947. There have been instances in recent decades of pairs nest building, so it seems only a matter of time before the Westcountry can claim a home-grown kite.
Kevin said the young non-breeding birds tend to roam westwards down the peninsula, especially in good weather, riding high on thermals or – for the lucky viewer – flying low over fields. In Devon they can turn up pretty much anywhere, though most are observed along the south coast and around Dartmoor. Last year a record 400-plus sightings were reported to Devon Birds, the county bird society for which Kevin is recorder.
“It is fantastic to see them regaining their place in the British countryside,” he said.
“As they drift westwards they then find themselves in a bottleneck in Cornwall when they run out of land and thermals, before they turn and eventually head back eastwards. Earlier this week there was a report of more than 50 flying around West Penwith.”
Last spring, Cornwall witnessed a significant influx between May 9-11, with county bird recorder Dave Parker counting an incredible 306 from his garden in Marazion.
As the Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society (CBWPS) reported on its website, record numbers were reported, with more “eyes to the skies” during the pandemic lockdown ensuring plenty of people got to see them.
“Each year, usually in late spring as high pressure builds and winds from an easterly bias set in, non-breeding birds from all across the UK disperse and funnel down the country,” it said. “As the
landscape narrows into our very own bottleneck for birds we can enjoy the spectacle of seeing these graceful raptors.
“Quite why red kites undertake this partial migration is still up for debate. It could be that they are prospecting for new breeding territories in the future or perhaps they are using their migratory instincts as many of Britain’s naturalised population derives from introduced birds from the more migratory populations of Scandinavia and Spain.”
A red kite over the Westcountry is always an exciting sighting, whether for a novice birdwatcher or an experienced birder, and the future appears bright for these distinctive and attractive birds.
As for the bird I spotted a few days ago over west Dartmoor, it worked its way along the ridge, buoyant flight aided by the updraughts, then followed the river valley south before disappearing from view. I have only ever seen the occasional red kite near where I live, so it rather made my day and I returned home with a couple of blurry photos to treasure.
In the future red kites could become a far more common sight in the Westcountry. But this impressive bird will, for me at least, always feel like a rare treat.