'I'm hopeful the red kite chicks bound for Spain will flourish in the same way the chicks that arrived to this country a generation ago did, as we support those helping to rebuild the population and the prospects of this magnificent bird in southern Europe.' 'It's a clear blueprint for the future of species reintroductions, particularly for some of our most endangered birds. Natural England chairman Tony Juniper said: 'The reintroduction of red kites to England is the most successful raptor conservation story in Europe. Juvenile birds are set to be flown to Extremadura and Andalusia, and will be acclimatised in aviaries before being released. This year, all the chicks going to Spain have been collected by Forestry England from nests in the public forests it cares for, as well as from the Boughton Estate in Northamptonshire. The project will involve some of the people from the original England and Scotland red kite reintroduction projects. The RSPB and Accion por el Mundo Salvaje are set to supply 30 wild red kite chicks a year for three years from the large healthy population in the East Midlands. However, the red kite population has remained at low levels, prompting the collaboration between Spanish and British conservation organisations. Spanish authorities have taken major steps to address in recent years, wildlife experts said, and many of the other bird species have recovered. The decline is mainly due to the illegal poisoning of birds of prey and vultures, and lack of food. This sparked a trial reintroduction project involving bringing kites from Spain, as the kites were doing well there in comparison to the UK.īetween 19, kites from Spain were imported and released in England by the RSPB and English Nature, now Natural England.īirds were also brought from Sweden for the Scottish releases, leading to the species incredible recovery across Britain.īy 1996, at least 37 pairs had bred in southern England, and the population in Britain is now at an estimated at 6,000 breeding pairs.īetween 4,500 and 5,000 of those are in England, and the UK is now home to more than 10 per cent of the world's population of red kites.Ĭonservationists say the project has been so successful that red kite chicks can now be donated back to Spain, where populations have been decreasing. The red kite was one of only three globally threatened species in the UK in the 1980s. However, persecution over a 200-year period from shootings, poisonings and egg collectors saw numbers fall.īy the 20th century the birds were extinct in England and Scotland, and while there were few breeding pairs in central Wales there were not enough to recolonise the rest of Britain. The birds also had a reputation for stealing laundry hung out to dry for their nests, which gets mentioned in 'The Winter's Tale'. They were common city scavengers in medieval London, and were mentioned in Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus' when he described the capital as 'city of kites and crows'. They largely feed on carrion and worms, and cut a distinctive silhouette in the sky with splayed wing tips and a distinctive forked tail. Red kites, or Milvus milvus, are large birds of prey that can have a wingspan of 5ft, but typically weigh between 0.9 and 1.3kg. This year, all the chicks going to Spain have been collected by Forestry England from nests in public forests, as well as from the Boughton Estate in Northamptonshire (stock image)
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