Highs and lows for Irish Red Kites in 2011

22/01/2012 17:13:46 Kites and other raptors being killed by rodenticides - Courtesy of Birdwatch Ireland

January 2011. After an absence of 200 years as a breeding species in Ireland, Red Kites are once again a familiar sight in parts of the east coast, thanks to the success of the Irish Red Kite Reintroduction Project.

The Golden Eagle Trust, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Welsh Kite Trust have collected 120 Red Kite chicks from nests in Wales, which have been subsequently reared and released in County Wicklow between 2007 and 2011. The fruits of this labour were confirmed by NPWS ranger, Damian Clarke, who recorded the first brood of "Irish born" kites in Wicklow in 2010. Following this milestone, the project has gone from strength to strength, and in 2011 there were 14 breeding pairs of kites in Wicklow, which produced a minimum of 17 young.

39 released in 2011
In 2011, which saw the final phase of the collection of young kites from Wales, an additional release site was established in Fingal, County Dublin where 39 Red Kites were released. This project, which is managed by the Golden Eagle Trust, is funded by Fingal LEADER Partnership through the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Fingal County Council, at Newbridge Demesne, and a private landowner hosted and facilitated the two separate release cages. The work has also benefitted from the significant support from the local communities, a large network of volunteers and landowners, with over 100 people involved in building the cages, collecting the birds, and feeding and monitoring of the released kites.

Eight dead kites recovered
It was with great disappointment to staff and volunteers therefore that a series of deaths were recorded in late 2011. A total of eight dead kites were recovered in Fingal during the autumn and winter of 2011, which represent just over 20% of the birds released in this area. The deaths included the satellite tagged kite "@" which had travelled as far as County Mayo since its release in July, before returning safely to Fingal, where it was later confirmed to have died near Lusk in November.

Ms. Phil Moore, from the Fingal LEADER Partnership expressed sadness saying, "We just can't believe our baby is dead. We have all been following the satellite tagged kite since her release and have pictures all over the office of her journey; it is upsetting to know she is now dead".

At least 4 kites had poison
Dr. Marc Ruddock, Red Kite Project Manager for the Golden Eagle Trust, said, "There is nothing more heart-breaking than having to collect the carcass of a bird after having followed its development from a small, downy chick in Wales and then watching it flying free in Ireland". Analysis of the Red Kite carcasses under a post-mortem protocol operated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Agriculture and the State Laboratory revealed that at least four of the kites contained the second generation rat poison, brodifacoum.

Dietary analysis of the kites, both in Wicklow and Dublin, has shown that they are hunting and scavenging rats, which puts them at risk from secondary poisoning from rodenticides. Dr. Ruddock further said, "We recognise the requirement for rodent control in terms of human health and food safety, but urge amateur and professional users alike to ensure that rodent control is carefully planned to reduce the risk to non-target wildlife".

Best practice rodent eradication strategies record information such as the quantity and location of all baits and require bait stations to be regularly inspected and not left exposed to non-target animals and birds. Furthermore, dead rodents should be collected and disposed of safely and baits should be removed at the end of the treatment.
Urban and rural rodenticide users are urged to be mindful of the potential environmental effects of the use of chemicals.

John Lusby, Raptor Conservation Officer with BirdWatch Ireland, noted "the efforts of the Golden Eagle Trust to restore our Red Kite population have been phenomenal. These deaths however highlight an area of serious concern; recent research has also shown that other species such as Barn owls, Kestrels and Long-eared owls are at significant risk".

Rodenticide
John Lusby continued, "The problem occurs when these raptors capture live rodents which have ingested poison. The compounds used in certain Rat poisons nowadays are extremely toxic and accumulate within a bird which has fed on a poisoned rodent. There are some clear steps we can take to try and reduce the threat of secondary poisoning to our raptor populations, such as amending current regulations in Ireland and increasing awareness of best practise rodent control, and we hope to work alongside the Trust and relevant Government bodies in 2012 to attempt to address these issues".

In addition to the problems posed to Red Kites and other wildlife through the legal use of Rat poisons, two other (untagged) Red Kites were confirmed to have been illegally poisoned by Alphachloralose in Wicklow last autumn. Dr. Ruddock continued, "It remains clear there are still serious issues which require further attention and action to protect our Irish raptors".