The Stunning Red Kite

 

The majestic and unmistakable Red Kite

With its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail, the magnificent and graceful Red Kite is an unmistakable bird of prey. In the UK, it was saved from extinction by one of the world's longest-running protection programmes. It has now been successfully re-introduced to England, Wales and Scotland. However, Red Kites are still a protected species and listed under Schedule 1 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act.  

Their head is pale grey and patterned with dark streaks, and they have a yellow beak with a dark hook and pale, striking eyes. Their angular wings span 185cm. On the upper side they are red-brown at the shoulders with darker tips and edges, while underneath there are characteristic blocks of white before darker, fingered wing tips. 

Red kites first breed at two years old and produce a single clutch of around three eggs. As monogamous birds, mating pairs will return to the same nests each season, adding new material to them during the breeding period. The female stays with the eggs while the male sources her food. When the eggs hatch, chicks stay in the nest until they fledge at around 60 days old. They will then continue to be fed by their parents for a few weeks.

Red kites nest in broadleaved woodland. They search for food in wooded valleys, pasture and open countryside as well as in suburban areas and towns.

Five countries are home to some 90 % of the world’s red kite nesting population: Germany (10,500-13,000 pairs), France (2,340-3,020 pairs), Spain (2,000-2,200 pairs), Sweden (1,800 pairs) and Switzerland (1,200-1,500 pairs). If the United Kingdom (1,600 pairs), Poland (650-750 pairs), and Italy (300-450 pairs) are included, almost all of the global population, estimated at between 20,800 and 24,900 pairs, is accounted for.

Since the end of the 1980s, farming has changed a great deal in areas that have been traditionally limited to raising cattle. The number of maize fields has increased, replacing meadows, grassland and other crops. This land was formerly home to a variety of prey for red kites, although maize fields offer poor food resources for them. Field sizes in France (excluding artificial meadows and lawns) decreased by 16.4 % between 1982 and 1997. Unlike intensification, decreasing agricultural influence, with a consequent increase in woodland rather than open countryside, more favourable to kites, also has a negative effect.

In France, red kites are now considered a vulnerable species, even though France is home to over a quarter of the world’s red kite population. The species is one of the most endangered in the country.

I have been fortunate to photograph these beautiful birds in a number of areas within the UK and France over the years and all of the images below were taken at varied locations.

I hope that you enjoy seeing them, as much as I did taking these photographs!

and to finish this blog, a picture of a rare Leucistic Red Kite:

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