Red kites breed in Cornwall for first time in 170 years

APAIR of red kites have raised young in Cornwall for the first time in at least 170 years. While the scarce birds of prey are regular annual visitors to the Westcountry, there has been no evidence of the species breeding in Cornwall since the middle of the 19th century.

Mark Grantham, chairman of the Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society (CBWPS), was alerted to a pair in mid-Cornwall this summer and eventually located two newlyfledged juveniles being fed by adults.

He said he was “delighted” to have confirmed the birds had bred in Cornwall, given the lack of historical records for the county. In neighbouring Devon the last confirmed record of successful breeding stretches back to the early 20th century, with possible records in more recent decades.

Red kites have become a frequent sight in the Westcountry during the summer months as roaming nonbreeding birds, mainly from northern and eastern areas of Britain, funnel down the peninsula before heading back to established sites later in the year.

However, while breeding has long been suspected, proof of this has eluded nest recorders across the county, said Mr Grantham. Historically the picture in Cornwall is unclear, with reports of kites nesting in Philleigh, on the Roseland Peninsula, until 1835 and in the St Neot area until around 1842.

Mr Grantham said that in May this year he was alerted by a tree surgeon to a pair of red kites in mid-Cornwall and, fully licensed, he visited several times over the following weeks. When the elusive birds “went quiet” he was ready to give up, but patience finally paid off when, in June, he spotted two recentlyfledged juveniles begging for food from adults, their outer tail feathers which give the characteristic ‘forked’ shape, not fully grown. By July the birds appeared to have left the site, which has not been disclosed.

“It took a while to track them down and prove it, but it was very exciting and something very special given the historic lack of records,” said Mr Grantham, who managed to take photos of a juvenile with a parent bird

Mark Grantham A juvenile red kite (left) and adult in Cornwall