Majestic flight of the red kite
With its striking plumage, forked tail and unmistakable wings, the agile red kite can be seen once more gliding above wide green fields
High in woodland branches among old oak trees, a nest made from a loose assembly of twigs is swaying in the late spring breeze. Two young birds are perched on the edge, flapping their long, ungainly wings to test out their flight muscles. One teeters as if about to fall, but at the very last moment, it regains its balance and manages to avoid disaster. These birds are juvenile red kites, one of Britain’s most elegant birds of prey. But they are not quite as neat and svelte as their parents, their plumage currently having a rather tatty appearance. The two youngsters hatched approximately seven weeks earlier, tiny and helpless. Since then, they have grown rapidly in both size and strength. Now they are 2ft (60cm) long from beak to tail, with a wingspan close to 6ft (180cm). The smaller youngster is the male. He weighs approximately 2lbs (1kg). His sibling, a female, is slightly heavier, tipping the scales at 2½lbs (1.2kg). Both have the same plumage, a mixture of buff and reddish-brown, with black tips to the wings and a greyish head, lightly streaked with black. Although their parents have fed and cared for them since hatching, they are now fledged, with a full set of flight feathers, and they are ready to leave the nest. The parent birds perch nearby, occasionally uttering shrill, high-pitched calls, to try to persuade the young kites to take the next step into the unknown. Finally, the young female launches herself off the edge of the nest and into the air. At first, it looks as if she will plummet to the ground, but with an instinctive flap of her wings, she is finally airborne. Moments later, perhaps encouraged by his sister, the male kite leaves the nest too. Soon both are soaring high above the woodland. They will remain in the area, where they will be fed for another two to three weeks. Towards the end of the summer though, they will sever ties with their parents. Some young birds will stay close to the area where they were born, while others travel hundreds of miles away. The following spring high pressure systems bring fine, settled weather to southern Britain. At this time, single kites or small flocks can be seen in areas where they do not yet nest, including parts of south-west England. It is thought that these are birds born the previous year, which are not yet
mature enough to breed. It is likely they are simply taking advantage of the good flying conditions to drift back to the place where they were born and raised. The adults are far more sedentary, remaining in the same area all year round.
Historic role
Red kites are a member of the family Accipitridae, which includes hawks, eagles, buzzards and harriers as well as other kites. They are usually found in areas with a combination of
“Ah, could I see a spinney nigh, A paddock riding in the sky, Above the oaks, in easy sail, On stilly wings and forked tail.” John Clare, ‘The Fens’
farmland and mature, but fairly open, woodland. These areas provide ideal places to feed and nest. In recent years, they have started to appear over villages and towns. These urban areas, including cities, were once their common habitat. In Tudor times, the kite was one of the most common city birds, scavenging for food and keeping the streets clean. They were deemed so important to urban hygiene that they were protected by a royal decree, and killing them was punishable by the death penalty. It was only during the 18th and 19th centuries that they came to be classed as vermin and were relentlessly persecuted. As a result, red kites became very rare in Britain. At the start of the 20th century, only a handful remained, due to persecution by gamekeepers and landowners. They were first given protection in 1903, when numbers were down to fewer than 10 pairs, all in one small part of Wales. Even as recently as the 1980s, they were confined as a breeding bird to the wooded valleys of Mid Wales, and very rarely seen elsewhere. Now, as a result of a concerted reintroduction programme, red kites are a regular sight over many parts of the country. Their strongholds are now in the Chilterns, the Midlands, the North East, Scottish Borders and the Black Isle, east of Inverness. Their recovery and the new extent of their range expansion is remarkable. The first British Trust for Ornithology Atlas survey of breeding birds, conducted from 1968-1972, found kites in just 30 6.2-mile squares. The most recent survey, from 2008-2011, found they were breeding in more than 700 6.2-mile squares and were seen during the breeding season in 800 others.
Easily recognised
Soaring overhead, a red kite is unmistakable. No other raptor has its sharply angled wings, each with long ‘fingers’ of primary feathers at the ends, a very long, deeply forked tail and the combination of colours that gives it a rather patchwork appearance. Kites have long legs with powerful talons, though they take only a small proportion of their diet as live prey. These are mostly small mammals, such as rabbits, rats, mice and voles or young birds. But they are adept at scavenging. They glide over
“Come, on wings of joy we’ll fly To where my bower hangs on high; Come, and make thy calm retreat Among green leaves and blossoms sweet.” William Blake, ‘The Birds’
the countryside, using their keen eyesight to spot dead rabbits or sheep. They will also feed on earthworms. They catch prey with their talons, tearing it apart with their bill. The birds generally fly fairly slowly and quite low over the landscape, using their tail as a rudder to control their movements. They seem to float effortlessly on those long, fingered wings. But on warm spring or summer days, they also use thermals to gain height, often gathering in large flocks. Unlike most birds of prey, kites are fairly gregarious. Today, there are at least 1,600 pairs of red kites breeding in the United Kingdom. The programme to reintroduce these striking birds to England and Scotland is arguably the most successful project of its kind ever in Britain. There are still problems with poisoning and shooting of kites in Scotland, but even so, numbers continue to rise. Because reintroduced kites mix with the original wild Welsh birds, improving their gene pool, kites are doing well in Wales, too. They are even starting to return to their Tudor haunts, being regularly seen over many British cities, including London. Slowly, the existence of these beautiful birds is coming full circle.