30 magnificent Red Kites brought to the North West of England several weeks ago from donor nests located in Northamptonshire are reported as doing well at Grizedale. In the next week or so, provided the weather improves, these birds will be hacked into the wild from where they are currently being housed in temporary holding pens.The Red Kite has been absent as a breeding species from the county for over 200 years.
The Forestry Commission is spearheading a three-year project to reintroduce up to 90 red kites into the region – the first of its kind in North West England and the last red kite reintroduction project in England.
In June Forestry Commission wildlife rangers from Grizedale brought 30 birds, soon after hatching, from Rockingham in Northamptonshire back to Grizedale. Forest
The birds are currently being held in a specially built holding pen secretly located in Grizedale. The forest’s team of experts are looking after the birds and feeding them daily until they are all hard-penned and reach a size where they are ready to fly and care for themselves.
“The birds are settled in nicely and all are doing well,” said Forestry Commission wildlife ranger Iain Yoxall, who is managing the reintroduction. “They are currently around nine weeks old and we would envisage releasing them at around ten to twelve weeks old.
“All are fully feathered with well developed flight feathers and characteristic forked tails. We will be fitting them with wing tags later this week which refer to the release area and year and, along with radio transmitters, will help us monitor them after they have been released,” he said.
The birds are being fed a variety of food including grey squirrel, young crows, magpies, jackdaws and rabbit, although road-killed mallard and pheasants have also been provided.
The Grizedale programme is the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK, and the final phase of re-introductions in England.
Red kites were almost eradicated from the UK following changes in farming practices and human persecution between the 16th and 19thCenturies. However they managed to cling on in mid Wales and their numbers recovered slowly thanks to the actions of local conservationists. The last known active nest in Cumbria, apart from one nest recorded in 2001 in the south of the county, was located close to Armathwaite along the banks of the River Eden towards the end of the 18th Century.
Now the birds are beginning to thrive again following the conservation work undertaken by organisations like the Forestry Commission and local raptor groups. If all goes according to plan in Cumbria, the first active nests should begin to appear in 2012. The first batch of 30 Red Kites being released in Grizedale will each be fitted with Orange and Blue wing tags. At least 3 additional birds will be fitted with satellite radio transmitters to enable scientists to closely monitor their movement patterns throughout the county.
The red kites being introduced into Grizedale are the product of a reintroduction programme that took place in Northamptonshire in the 1980s.
A special advisory group has been established, containing bird experts from organisations like Natural England, the RSPB and the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, to help ensure the project’s success. (Ref. to Cumbria Raptor Group removed as it no longer exists).
Red kites are coloured rust red and have white patches under their wings. They are primarily a scavenger and feed mostly on carrion. They breed from around the age of two years and usually pair for life.
Graeme Prest, from the Forestry Commission in the North West, said: “It is great to see the red kites settling in so well at their new home in Grizedale. The Forestry Commission manages 24,000 hectares of public woodland across the North West of England to the highest international standards.
“These woodlands are home to wonderful wildlife, from ospreys to red squirrels to rare butterflies and orchids, and the red kites are a spectacular addition to the wonderful diversity of wildlife we have here at Grizedale.”
Images displayed by kind permission of Iain Yoxall
Interesting to know that Ian Carter of Natural England [the author of the Red Kite Book] said, that Red Kites would never be released into the Lake District due to the high rain fall it receives similar to central Wales where breeding is very limited. He also said the Gateshead Red Kites would never survive!! So who are these so called experts on this advisery group?
I would like to point to an error in what you have published relating to the “Special” advisory group which it is now being claimed has been established, containing bird experts from organisations like Natural England, the RSPB, Cumbria Raptor Study Group and the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, to help ensure the project’s success. Why have you included a reference to the Cumbria Raptor Group which does not exist? Because of a lack of support and interest here in Cumbria, the group folded several years ago. As far as I am aware the only raptor group that continues to work in Cumbria and has done so since the late 1960’6 is the North West Raptor Group.
Admin would like to apologise, you are correct the Cumbria Raptor Group is no longer active and should not have been included in the list of members of the Special Advisory Team. We have now contacted the Forestry Commission to advise them of their error.
Raptor Politics only published what we were sent, contained in a Forestry Commission Press Release. Skydancer is also correct by pointing out that the North West Raptor Group is the only existing raptor study group now working in Cumbria.
The North West Raptor Group was founded in 1967 and was Britain’s first raptor group. Many details of the group’s work have recently been highlighted in a new book titled, Peregrine Falcon Populations, Status and Perspectives in the 21st century. ISBN 978-83-920969-6-2
The question all raptor enthusiasts should be asking is why were regional raptor groups set up in the first instance if organisations like Natural England and RSPB do not pay attention to what members of these groups are telling them? In my view i regard it as a major cock up to have included a non existent raptor group onto the special red kite advisory panel,while excluding the local raptor group who cover the region into which the kites are being released.
I find it unbelievable and quite frankly sickening to read in the shooting media comments attributed to Natural England thanking gamekeepers for their support and hard work which contributed to this years hen harrier successes in England.How can anyone with any understanding of what is taking place on Englands uplands thank the very people whose criminal activities brought about the decline of the hen harrier throughout our moorland regions in the first place and continue to do so.
Like everyone else with an interest in harriers,i would like to know where these succesful nests are currently located.It is a well known documented fact the only consistent and stable hen harrier population in England is being restricted to one small enclave upon moorland in the Forest of Bowland owned by North West Water.The last successful nesting pair of hen harriers on the RSPB’s Geltsdale Reserve was in 2006 at which point gamekeepers completely purged them from this region. Perhaps Natural England would now like to thank them for a job well done!
I don’t wish to appear overly critical but no mention was made in this article of the significant fact that we owe Spain a debt of gratitude for allowing us to bring in Red Kites from that country just over two decades ago. This is the main reason we have kites in England today. The population of kites which hung on in Wales was not a very significant part of the reintroduction, albeit glad they are there of course.
We owe our present red kite population in England principally to kites being brought over from Spain (firstly to here in the Chiltern Hills) about two decades ago, rather than from any expansion of kites which “hung on” in Wales and which native population has not expanded naturally beyond mid Wales nor been used for a general UK reintroduction programme. This is not clear from reading your article.
In south lakeland today late afternoon and nice to see three red kites soaring until the heavy downpours came hope they continue to stay in cumbria