Heard a mewling in the trees and saw this some distance away. Heavy crop.
The Red Kite in the UK
By the late 1870's Red Kites had become extinct in England and Scotland and by the turn of the century , down to a few pairs in Wales. Although a protected species, red kites became a victim of their own rarity in the UK , through selfish egg collectors, game keepers and their own low reproduction rate of a single young per breeding season. In 1986 the RSPB , Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage embarked on one of the most successful species reintroduction schemes ever known. In 1989, six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and one Welsh bird in Buckinghamshire. Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish ,Spanish and German origin were released at several sites, with the last birds released in the early 1990's, resulting in self-sustaining breeding populations throughout the Britain today . Nevertheless this success remains fragile, with these elegant raptors still under threat today, from illegal poisoning and trapping, particularly on the game estates of wealthy land owners.
