26 August 2010

A Red Kite from England which hardly ever leaves its own territory has been spotted 400 miles away in Scotland. The bird which is known as Yellow/Pink1 after the colour of its wing tags was seen this week at Argaty Red Kites feeding station near Doune in Perthshire.

 

The bird which originates from a nest near Fawley in Buckinghamshire was tagged as part of the kite reintroduction project in the Chilterns. Experts are not sure whether Yellow/Pink1 will return to its nest or extend its ‘staycation’ and remain at Argaty for the winter.

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.

"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 - but these are usually kites which are descended from Swedish birds, which are naturally migratory."

In the 19^th Century throughout the UK with the exception of Wales Red Kites were made extinct. It was only in 1989 as a result of a reintroduction programme which was set up by the RSPB and the  Joint  Nature Conservancy Council the existence of such wonderful birds was realised once more. This project brought in Red Kites from Sweden and Germany and as a result the project has proved very successful with 800 breeding pairs present in the Chiltern Area.

This Red Kite is also understood to be of breeding age however it is not yet clear whether the bird will stay and pair with another local bird in the spring or migrate back to its homeland south of the border.

 

 

 

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