Red Kites in Reading
NEW FOR WINTER 2011/12: Red kite feeders' questionnaire
Do you feed (or have you ever fed) red kites in your garden? If so, we would be very grateful if you could complete our online questionnaire so that we can learn more about red kite garden feeding. It takes about 5 minutes and is anonymous unless you choose to provide contact details. The survey is for people across the UK, not just Reading.
Please complete the questionnaire here
Please note that the questionnaire is for those who have ever fed red kites in their gardens. Unfortunately it is not possible to complete it if you have never fed red kites.
A brief history
Red kites were once a common sight across the UK. They were an urban bird, and records and old prose describes them as feeding in city streets; their scavenging of carrion and rotten food keeping streets clean before modern waste disposal techniques. This role was so valued in the late Middle Ages that red kites, along with ravens, were protected by royal decree. However, as time progressed, sustained persecution, particularly under the Tudor Vermin Act that placed prices on the heads of a huge variety of British wildlife, resulted in their near-extinction by the late 1800s. Many farmers believed that the kites were capable of killing young livestock, an unfounded fear. In later years, they were also affected by lead poisoning from gunshot pellets in the carrion they fed on and by collectors stealing eggs as they became a rare species. This meant that by the late 1800s they were extinct in England and Scotland, with only a very small population remaining in suboptimal habitat in Wales. This relict population only survived due to over one hundred years of dedicated protection by supportive local farmers and early conservationists, with the locations of nests and roosts closely guarded secrets. Despite this, the population fell as low as ten breeding pairs, and recent genetic work has suggested that at one point, just one female amongst these successfully reared young that went on to breed themselves.
Although there were slow increases in the size of the Welsh population towards the latter part of the twentieth century, its extremely small size and failure of the birds to spread over such a long period of time meant it was felt to be highly unlikely that the red kite could recover its former UK range without assistance. As one of just three globally threatened species in the UK at the time, and with the UK's commitments under EU legislation to restoring native biodiversity where feasible, the RSPB and NCC began to look into a reintroduction with young birds from other parts of Europe. In 1989, they began a staged series of reintroductions across the UK, beginning with two release sites, one in southern England and the other in northern Scotland.
The southern England release took place in the Chilterns, not all that far from Reading, and it is the expanding population resulting from this release that we are now seeing in the town. Ninety-three juvenile red kites were released into the Chilterns from 1989-94. The 48 males and 45 females were sourced predominantly from populations in Spain and Sweden; these birds were genetically similar to the populations originally found in England - a requirement for reintroductions schemes. This small population had a high survival rate; and eventually a sufficient reproduction rate to
recolonise the Chilterns, and their numbers rose. There are now thought to be around 1800 breeding pairs across the UK although estimates are difficult now that populations have increased so much.
It is interesting that, although reintroduced into the rural Chilterns, Red Kites are now a common sight across Reading and surrounding areas. This suggests that the red kites are again taking their role as an urban bird.
Basic biology
Red kites are easily recognisable birds of prey with a chestnut-red chest, a forked tail and a wingspan of approximately 1.7 metres. Males and females are difficult to tell apart by sight although females can be up to 5% larger. They are scavengers and opportunists; they prefer to feed from carcasses such as sheep carrion and roadkill. Due to the lack of strength in their talons and their small bills, red kites are unable to feed on larger carcasses until stronger birds, such as ravens and buzzards, have opened them and the red kite can scavenge the remains. Although carrion is the preferred food source, it is not always readily available and their diet can also include a range of small mammals up to the size of young hares, and also earthworms and waste food left by humans.
Red kites begin to breed from 2-3 years old and pair for life as breeding partners. They begin laying eggs in March in nests built high in trees; the majority are in hardwoods such as oaks. These are flat, untidy constructions built from sticks, approximately 2 feet in diameter. Females tend to lay between 1-4 eggs, requiring incubation for 31-35 days. In the UK red kites stay in the same territory all year round; the preferable habit is broadleaf woodlands, valleys and the edge of wetlands.
Please visit www.redkites.net and the Chiltern AONB Conservation Board's red kite webpages for more information on red kites.
Our research so far
The first stage of our research was designed to determine the current intensities of red kites in Reading and track the pathways they take within Reading's borders. To acquire these data we recorded the positions and times at which kites were sighted from the roof of the Oracle car park in central Reading on a range of days with good visibility. Initial analysis of these data indicate a trend towards the kites coming into urban and suburban Reading to scavenge during the day whilst roosting further afield; however we wish to acquire more data with further methods before we regard these data as solid.
We have also been carrying out questionnaires on wild bird feeding and on red kites in many locations in Reading - you may have met some of us outside some of the local shops! The information gathered in this work is currently being analysed.
Our latest project is an online questionnaire for people who feed red kites in their gardens. This was launched in October 2011 and will be continuing for the next few months. If y
ou feed kites in your garden (in Reading and the rest of the country), we would be very grateful if you could complete the questionnaire so that we can gather more information on the types and amounts of food that people put out and some further details. It takes about 5 minutes and is anonymous unless you choose to provide your contact details.
Red kite feeding images at top and bottom of page: Stuart Gay; all others: Mark Fellowes.