Please DO NOT feed Red Kites вЂ“В this can encourage birds to become dependent on scraps which will not give them all the nutrients they need. Live prey is usually caught by surprise rather than speed, although kites sometimes make fast, twisting chases. The kite hunts by flying low over open country, using the forked tail to steer, twisting it like a rudder. They will also feed on chicks, small mammals and invertebrates such as beetles and earthworms. Red kites eat mainly dead animals that they are able to find (carrion), being too weak-footed to kill any prey much bigger than a small rabbit. The young birds fledge in about six to seven weeks and will remain with their parents for a further week to ten days.

The nests are made from large sticks and are normally lined with wool, which the birds collect along with other unusual items such as pieces of plastic, and sometimes even items of clothing.Д«y mid-April the female lays up to four white eggs, flecked with light brown, of which one to three usually hatch after 34 days. They will use nests abandoned by other birds, or will build their own in tall trees. In March, kites begin to spend more time in potential nesting areas. Voice: Mew-like вЂњweoo-weoo-weooвЂќ, rapidly repeated Breeding (Juveniles are duller in colour than adults) Tail - grey / white tipped with black (deeply forked) Wings - red with white patches on underside Size: 60 - 65cm long (Males are slightly smaller than females) In the United Kingdom, populations of red kites now occur in: The red kite reintroduction has proved to be one of the greatest conservation success stories of the 20th century. Since 1999, chicks have been taken from the Chilterns to reintroduction sites in other parts of the country. The reintroduction has been so successful it is not possible to monitor all the nests, so the overall size of the population can only be estimated. Red kites started breeding in the Chilterns in 1992 and now thereВ could beВ over 1,000 breeding pairs in the area. A small population survived in Wales, but there was little chance of these birds repopulating their original areas.Д«etween 19, kites from Spain were imported and released into the Chilterns by the RSPB and English Nature (now Natural England). Red kites were driven to extinction in England by human persecution by the end of the nineteenth century. DiscoverВ some great spots to see them and find out more about these magnificent birds of prey. The Chilterns is one of the best places in the UK to see red kites, thanks to a successful re-introduction projectВ between 19. Home > About the ChilternsВ > Red Kites Red Kites

Red kite feeding sites in wales