Red Kite - More Daily Mail nonsense (1 Viewer)

[June Atkinson]

June they will also go for half grown chickens as I witnessed last year at very close range. I suspect the problem here is the wording " very close range". With people feeding the birds they are losing their fear of people and in the manner of large gulls suposedly attacking people , red kites are getting a similar blame. This could be a case of the kite treating the dog as a rival scavenger.

Yes, I remember we had this discussion a while ago. Your point about people feeding them is a valid one; I personally would never feed them.

We have often been asked if we would have a feeding station in the Derwent Valley. Our answer would be 'No', as the habitat provides what they need. The only occasion where we would consider feeding them is if in winter they were in danger of starving because they couldn't forage for themselves. But even here, the feeding would be on a rotating system so that the kites never know where their food is going to be; this would encourage them to fend for themselves. If a kite were injured and brought into rehab pens, then it would be fed until well enough to be released.

 

[Mark B Bartosik]

Very, very interesting news with fascinating details that includes fact of a model being blonde-haired (never heard her name before and no reason to bother trying to remember it now).

What is tragic: there are many, many Pomeranian dogs (name Vinnie does not make it unique) but no photos of Red Kite taking and flying off with a dog (with Vinnie - name will made the news more worthy). She could become more known if she waited patiently, camera ready (do not leave home without it!), and snapped a few photos. B

BTW I heard lately a second hand story about birder convinced that she had an Osprey coming often to her bird-feeders that hunted/killed/ate birds there. I had no information shared if she ever was a model or actress and what her hair color was …

That said I am always (well, with very few exceptions, only justified during catastrophic events) against feeding wildlife.

All the best,

Mark

 

[Irish Kite]

More raptor bashing on the BFF

Unfortunatly this nonsense has predictibly made it on to the BFF web site where the usual spin and BS rules on the subject of raptors:C

http://farmingforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=67490

 

[SUGS]

+BBC nonsense .

It made the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 today .

Listener . "I've had one shadow my dog "
Vine . "Were you worried ? "
Listener . "Not really it's a Cocker Spaniel "
Vine . "What if there were two Kite ?"

It was Jeremy and not Tim Vine !

I had 22 together over my house recently, at 13+ stone should I be worried ?

 

[Helen O]

Any person know if Kites take live prey? I thought they were scavengers!

Yes, they do take live prey, especially at this time of the year. Small mammals such as shrews, voles, mice etc form part of their diet.

I don't know if it was a kite. I wasn't there. However, there appears to be no questions asked about what how the bird was positively identified as a red kite. My comments about this are on the other thread. Perhaps the two should be merged?

 

[birdboybowley]

Unfortunatly this nonsense has predictibly made it on to the BFF web site where the usual spin and BS rules on the subject of raptors:C

http://farmingforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=67490

Did like the quote about the string snapping though...and as for 'Welsh Matt' (or should be sounds like 'matt'), I'm sure he's taken more than a few live lambs too in his time

 

[Richard Klim]

Dan & Dan sum it up: The Daily Mail Song.

 

[Amarillo]

I loved the quote - Experts think there are now between 700 and 1,000 breeding pairs of red kites in the Thames Valley area.

Only one word for that and it isn't repeatable!!

CB

Not sure thats too far off the mark actually...

 

[Mouldy]

Just noted this thread but every time I hear a tale like this it reminds me of a conversation I had a few years back in a shop in the village (btw I live in the derwent valley, core area of the northeast red kites).
The Northern kites Project had been heavily involved in educating the locals about the non-threatening nature of the kites with them being released so close to quite a large population but the message doesn't always get through.
I was talking about the kites with a local shop-owner when a lady interrupted saying she walked her dog on a grassy area in the village and there would always be a couple of kites hanging around in the sky there, she was frightened one would take her dog so she always held it close while she crossed the area.
I tried to reassure her that they would only be looking out for carrion or really small prey and enquired as to what breed of dog she had.

She said "German shepherd."

I still laugh now trying to picture it.

 

[Robin Edwards]

But Mouldy, we know how non-birders like to over-estimate the size of the wildlife they see.

 

[Cheshire Birder]

Dan & Dan sum it up: The Daily Mail Song.

Very funny!!!

CB

 

[Mouldy]

But Mouldy, we know how non-birders like to over-estimate the size of the wildlife they see.

Aye, very good :-O

 

[Seatallen]

Love the Daily Mail song :t: