Red kite joins Scottish ‘staycation’ trend

MAKING A COMEBACK: The red kite. Picture: Andy Hay / RSPB

First record of a red kite from the Chilterns visiting Scotland

August 2010: Scotland's popularity with ‘staycation' tourists from the south of England seems to have spread to the bird world, with an unexpected visit from a red kite hatched on the edge of West London.

The bird, known as yellow/pink 1 (the colour of his wing-tags) comes from a nest at Fawley, near Henley-on-Thames, and was tagged as part of the highly successful kite re-introduction project in the Chilterns. It was spotted at Argaty Red Kites near Doune earlier this week, the first time a kite from the Chilterns population has been recorded visiting Scotland.

Fascinating birds with unpredictable habits
Mike McDonnell, the information officer from Argaty, said: ‘Kites are fascinating birds with some rather unpredictable habits. Most of the kites in the UK today are quite sedentary, staying reasonably close to the areas they were hatched out. But we do get a few birds that travel quite widely: round trips of several hundred miles in only a few days are not unheard of.

'What's unusual in this case is that we think most of the kites that do move around are descended from Swedish birds, which are naturally migratory. The Chiltern birds came originally from a Spanish population which is probably the most sedentary in Continental Europe, so it's pretty unusual to see one that's travelled over 400 miles! It was a real treat.

Poisoning is an ever-present threat
‘Red kites are elegant and acrobatic birds, a little bigger than buzzards, and they feed almost exclusively on carrion. They perform a useful ‘clean-up' function in the countryside, but their habits can leave them vulnerable to illegal poisoning.'

Orr-Ewing, head of species and land management for RSPB Scotland, said: ‘Red kites were extinct in England and Scotland until 1989 when projects around the country, began to re-introduce them to the wild. The Chilterns project has been one of the most successful, with around 800 pairs now breeding in the surrounding areas. Compare this with the population in the Black Isle in the north of Scotland, which ran in tandem with the Chilterns project, but now stands at only around 40 to 50 pairs. Sadly, this seems in large part due to illegal killing of the birds, mostly through poisoning.'

All eyes will now be on yellow/pink 1 to see where he goes next, and whether he chooses to extend his ‘holiday' and remain at Argaty for the winter. As the bird is of breeding age, there is even a small possibility he may chose to stay and pair up with a local bird next spring.