Red Kite taking a goldfish? (1 Viewer)

[Keebs]

Just managed to grab a quick frame as it flew overhead and into the trees (I think) it is nesting in. I could see it was carrying something and was hoping the computer would reveal what...

..... looks for all the world like a fresh goldfish/koi to me!

Is this known behaviour for these scavengers or would he have wrestled it from a heron or other such aquatic predator?

 

[Clive A]

interesting!

 

[midlands birder]

Red Kites can 'fish' if the fish is close enough to the surface, so could have just snatched this from someones garden, or from a lake!
MB

 

[Keebs]

The direction he came from has a few houses and also a garden centre so it is possible he snatched it himself from a pond.
I've not heard of this before but I guess all birds (and animals) grab whatever food is available when they can.

A nice sunny day like today will have seen the fish close to the surface I would have thought.

 

[AlfArbuthnot]

Red Kites have been recorded fishing many times. Do a google search for 'red kite fishing' and you'll get plenty of hits.

There is a sequence of pictures here, http://www.dannyewers.com/index.php/showcase/red-kite-fishing

(scroll down)

 

[June Atkinson]

It could be a child's toy, or a small bird.

Red Kites are known for their acquisitive behaviour.

Shakespeare warned "Look to your lesser linen" when kites were about - they did steal from washing lines!!

...............and look what we found in our kites' nests one season!

Go to http://www.friendsofredkites.org.uk/page8.htm to find out more about their behaviour.

Just managed to grab a quick frame as it flew overhead and into the trees (I think) it is nesting in. I could see it was carrying something and was hoping the computer would reveal what...

..... looks for all the world like a fresh goldfish/koi to me!

Is this known behaviour for these scavengers or would he have wrestled it from a heron or other such aquatic predator?

 

[Helen O]

Nothing that unusual, they are opportunistic, and if the chance of a fish dinner was an easy picking...

 

[Tideliner]

There is no way that is a small bird June , a toy fish is possible , but a real goldfish is a lot more likely. I have seen them taking frogs from the shallows of a pond. Red Kites are great oppertunists taking what ever is available. Last year we had serious problems with a pair taking free range chicken poults on an organic farm. The Red kites would land right in the flock and chase them on foot. The kites seem to have little fear of humans. On the first occasion i was called to the farm while I was assuring the farmer kites would not harm his poults one swept in and killed a poult only 40 yards away. It took us a week to scare the kites off the farm using flags planted across the field and frequent visits to chase them off. It took a lot of persuasion to stop the farmer getting his shotgun out.

 

[June Atkinson]

.....serious problems with a pair taking free range chicken poults on an organic farm

Where did the red kites come from? Interesting since there is no re-introduced red kite population in Norfolk.... could they be either Midland birds, or over from the continent?

 

[mcdowall 1953]

someones pond will have a fish missing i think

 

[Irish Kite]

. The Red kites would land right in the flock and chase them on foot. .

That sounds like very odd behaviour for this species given Kites usual modus operandi of preferring to pick up small pieces of food or prey and getting back into the air ASAP - indeed most food items are picked up while still on the wing. Their short, puny feet would tend to support the notion that they are not comfortable spending time on the ground much less running around. Having observed both Red and Black Kites in various countries for prolonged periods over the last decade or so I've never witnessed such untypical Kite behaviour. Sure I've seen them pick up fish and frogs and I'm sure a vulerable goldfish could indeed be swiped but this incident sounds rather bizarre in its details. I'm not saying it didn't happen and a very small poult on its own in the middle of a field could be picked up by any ominiverous bird from the seize of a Jackdaw up, its just that I've never would have expected such behaviour from a species which is so aparently ill-designed for such a feat

 

[vstromman]

Sadly we have just had our pond cleared out by a Heron.It did drop a fish but there was no saving it. Is it possible this Kite spotted a similar opportunity?
Stunning Birds by the way.

 

[John B (not the sloop)]

I've watched Black Kites fishing a few times but never knew that Mr Milvus indulged too. Now watch out for the Daily Fail headline "Introduced Kites threat to inland fisheries"! |8||

 

[Tideliner]

June , Norfolk is now being colonised by red kites. We had at least 2 and possibly 3 successful pairs last summer. Of the birds i saw taking chicken poults , none were wing taged , so presumable ofspring of birds from elsewhere in the country.

I agree Irish Kite I did not expect to see kites chasing poults on foot , but what could I say to the farmers when is was happening just infront of us as we watched. perhaps its not all that unusual as the related honey buzzard spends a lot of time on the ground and i frequently see common buzzards worming on meadows at dusk on warm evenings ( almost in the dark sometimes when you would expect the buzzards to be roosting ) by walking about and picking them off the surface.

 

[dantheman]

What age/size of young chicken are we talking of here?

I was going to write that the original photo resembled one of those rubber chickens that were popular at festivals etc a year or two back, but feel that would probably be a little inappropiate now ...

 

[Tideliner]

The chicken poults were about starling size and just feathering up. They are allowed free range during the day in a 4 acre field and shut up at night. They are kept on an organic farm .

 

[dantheman]

Heading off topic, and they may have considered it anyway, but would geese kept as guards be effective against ariel predators as much as against foxes if it were to happen again?

I imagine there would be slight difficulties given the size of field however ...

 

[peter hill]

The fish could have been dead and floated to the side of a pond ,kites are well know to be scavingers,dead animal dead fish both food for a hungry kite

 

[Irish Kite]

I agree Irish Kite I did not expect to see kites chasing poults on foot , but what could I say to the farmers when is was happening just infront of us as we watched. perhaps its not all that unusual as the related honey buzzard spends a lot of time on the ground and i frequently see common buzzards worming on meadows at dusk on warm evenings ( almost in the dark sometimes when you would expect the buzzards to be roosting ) by walking about and picking them off the surface.

Not meaning to be arguementative TL but buzzards and kites aren't that closely related. Certainly not if your comparing the amount of time they feed on the ground.

PS: Those poults sound very small to be wandering a 4 acre open enclosure - I know gamekeepers would never allow pheasant poults wander beyong their roofed enclosure at that size. I'm all for free-range poultry but I think its a little bit unrealistic to be allowing birds of that size to be totally free-roaming given the points I made in my earlier post about susceptibilty to being picked up by any Jackdaw sized omniverous bird or any other predators from a rat upwards. Any of the free-range operation I've seen over here keep birds of that size separate from bigger older birds in a smaller roofed enclosure - as much to protect them from being bullied and pecked by older chickens as anything else.

 

[Tideliner]

There are domestic geese in the same field , but they do not mix with the chickens except at feeding time.

Yes i would agree the poults are on the small size , but they have large huts with covered rain shelters and the field is protected with a fine mesh electric fence to keep out foxes and rats. The field might be large , but at this size the poults rarely wander more than 25 yards away from their hut and the field is beside the farmhouse and is almost constantly under the sight of the farmers wife and family. There are four such groups of poults \ chickens in the field coupled with 30 odd domestic geese and sometimes domestic ducks. The corvids are heavly shot by the farmer and are no problem. The jackdaws\rooks that visit the field seem more interested in the chicken meal than the poults.