Breeding Red Kite in Herefordshire
From the Welsh Kite Trust web site:
http://www.welshkitetrust.org/
Breeding Red Kite in Herefordshire
By Chris Wells
In the last Issue of Boda Wennol Tony Cross reported that I had
confirmed a Red Kite nest in Herefordshire, the first for over a century. I
am very pleased to be able to report a bit more about this historic event
and to be able to provide a happy conclusion to this particular Kite Tale
During summer 2003, reports were received by the Trust of Red
Kites present in the north of the county. Despite visits by fieldworkers
nothing positive was obtained. However, a local resident, (who I shall call
"John" to avoid identification of the site) plotted all the various
sightings in the area. In spring 2004, John and I analysed his information
and by early April, after many periods of observation, we had identified an
area where we believed the nest to be located.
On 12th April, having agreed access conditions with the owner, I
finally found the nest, which was only visible from close range due to the
density of the woodland, situated about 50ft up in a Sitka Spruce tree. The
choice of nest tree was quite a surprise; there were many more traditional
deciduous trees that appeared to be more suitable.
A subsequent visit on 27th May confirmed that the adults were still
attending the nest but I was unable to confirm at this point that there were
chicks present.
At mid-day on 18th June, I saw an adult bird leave a tree near to
the Sitka Spruce. After watching for a while I saw a single chick stand up
briefly, stretch its wings then disappearing back down from view into the
safety of the nest. So history had been made, the Red Kite had breed
successfully in Herefordshire after a period of absence in excess of one
hundred and twenty five years. Not only was this a return of breeding Red
Kite to the county, these were the first pair of indigenous birds to breed
in England since the middle of the nineteenth century.
Such was the significance of this event that Tony Cross and I were
keen to record the event as fully as possible. We returned to the nest the
following day and Tony climbed the tree, photographing the chick in the nest
before ringing and tagging it for future monitoring. The chick, possibly a
female, weighed in at a respectable 925 grams and we estimated she was about
five weeks old. Worryingly there were the remains of several rats in the
nest but on close inspection the chick seemed perfectly fit and healthy.
On 16th July, John and I returned to the nest site where we observed
our little friend perched on a branch above the nest. It was almost fully
fledged but the feathers lacked the brightness of the adult birds. It was
certainly an "ugly duckling" compared to the parents. After a few minutes it
took to the wing and flew out of the wood where we observed it soaring
confidently above the nest site.
I cannot close this article without thanking the landowners
(who still wish to remain anonymous) for their co-operation. Without this
help the scientific data could not have been obtained. I must also thank
John, for without his help I may not have located the nest site in an area
of the county that previously I only visited infrequently. Needless to say I
shall return in spring 2005 to see if the birds nest again.
I am always grateful to receive reports of Red Kite in
Herefordshire or near its borders with other counties and can be contacted
through the Trust at HYPERLINK "mailto:
[email protected]"
[email protected]