Red kites inCharlbury

Sat 29 May 2021, 12:53

I am grateful to the red kites, at least I suspect it was them.  Once, when I was quite ill with a chest infection, I noticed an injured bird in my garden.  Research indicated that it was a red legged partridge, probably one of those left by shooting estates to fend for themselves having avoided being shot.  I was feeling so ill that it took a few days to look for a rescue service but it died before I could contact them.  I intended to dispose of the carcass but it disappeared.

I suspect that I can thank a red kite for saving me the effort.

Sat 29 May 2021, 11:00

I had a client - a school in the chiltons - where the children had to stop eating outside because of the Red Kites. Signs all over warning of attack!  Having said that, I love them and if not fed, shouldn’t prove too much of a problem, I believe. 

Fri 28 May 2021, 17:40

Well, this thread has been quite an education for me. A magnificent bird in our skies but not a creature that we should interact with in any way. Let's leave the Red Kite to its natural way. God forbid that it should become the rural seagull.

Thank you Angus for provoking this debate.

Thu 27 May 2021, 23:10

Perhaps Katie Russell’s and Phil Morgan’s questions, posted on Tuesday, have now been answered.

Thu 27 May 2021, 20:40

We went for a picnic at Watlington Hill in the Chilterns last year (good place to meet friends/family from London if they don't want to come all the way to Charlbury btw). A salmon roll was taken out of the hands of one of our party by a red kite just before the said roll was about to be eaten. It was quite alarming at the time (but also quite funny as no one was hurt). We had to retreat to a wooded area to finish our picnic. Red kites are indeed beautiful when soaring in the sky but can be quite intimidating when swarming around in numbers to pinch your food!

Indeed the National Trust ask you not to feed them at this site, saying: "Putting out food could ultimately lead to an unsustainably high population of red kites, reliant on human hand-outs. And it can change the kites’ behaviour, leading to some individual birds losing their natural wariness of humans so they become a nuisance to people."

Thu 27 May 2021, 07:51

I first met the cousin of the red kite - the black kite - when living in Ethiopia. Their aecrobatics were impressive. I had made a 'kite' for my kids and was proudly demonstrating it to them. The feathered kites destroyed it in about 5 minutes. The kids also learned that on picnics they had to sit under the table whilst eating otherwise the kites would swoop. Later when living in Uganda at BBQs we would throw chicken bones into the air - the kites would rarely miss. I have seen them pluck a fruit bat out of the air.

Wed 26 May 2021, 20:42

They are coming closer and closer into the urban areas on the hunt for food. After lockdown there has been a lot less roadkill. Some are struggling to find food to feed young. Such beautiful creatures. 

Wed 26 May 2021, 20:41

Have to admit I quite like the idea of a bit of spooky wildness in Charlbury. Must be the northerner in me. I'm also amused by the interactions with bullying crows, and can't help but love the swooping grace of the kites. Maybe that will change if they start to swoop closer down upon us. Hopefully, here they have rich hunting grounds and won't feel the need to nip or nick our sausage rolls!

Wed 26 May 2021, 19:58

Sorry to be a party pooper  but when we lived in South Oxfordshire we got a bit fed up,of the red kite which came to dominate  the air. They will increase in number and it is not unusual to see about twenty in a large old tree. Quite spooky...

Wed 26 May 2021, 19:20

I have seen black kites in Tanzania stealing a sandwich from out of the hand of an unwary picnicker, but have yet to see a red kite do the same thing.

I suspect in the UK it's seagulls that are more likely to prey on your packed lunch.

nb. I've also seen a huge raven in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia steal a bar of soap from somebody, although I'm not sure why.

Wed 26 May 2021, 09:13

"A kite is a raptor with sharp talons and a wingspan of up to 1.5 metres. If it wants your sausage roll, you should probably give it up."

Tue 25 May 2021, 20:55

Because the kites are less shy than buzzards there's a noticeable decrease in the number of buzzards in the area as the number of kites has increased. It used to be common to see 10 or more buzzards on thermals, now it'll be a mix of kites and buzzards. 

Tue 25 May 2021, 20:44 (last edited on Tue 25 May 2021, 21:16)

Apparently John Paul Getty Jr and the RSBP commenced a reintroduction and breeding programme in the late 1980’s on JPG’s Stokenchurch estate. Then 13 birds were imported from Spain in 1990 to aid the project. There’s now over 10,000 known breeding pairs. Thankfully, an incredibly successful programme. Beautiful to see over our garden.

Tue 25 May 2021, 20:39

That or Powys, whose county logo is a red kite - there’s a red kite centre near Rhayader and another in the hills towards Llandeilo. I remember we used to holiday in the Beacons fairly often and we’d watch the skies on the way over for the first suggestions that the Chiltern population might be joining up with the Powys ones. 

Tue 25 May 2021, 19:52

They were certainly absent in England, but when I lived in rural Ceredigion 1988-1992 we'd see them fairly often – I think that was their last refuge. And that's the era when the reintroduction in the Chilterns was first started. 

Tue 25 May 2021, 19:10

I am pretty sure you are right Angus, red-kites were just about extinct in the UK and were reintroduced into the Chilterns which is why we used to see so many of them circling over the A40 and M40 around Stokenchurch cut.

We had dinner many years ago with an employee of the RSPB who was one of the people who managed that reintroduction. I am aware that some of the public like feeding them, very unwisely, simply to encourage them into their local area. However, as Phil said, the main part of their diet is certainly carrion, though I'm sure they may well take a few small birds and mammals live.

The loss of a few small birds and mammals is not something that worries me at all, it is after all nature, red in tooth and claw, and the kites are not the only raptor that do this; earlier this year we had a sparrow-hawk sitting on top of our fence pulling a small bird into pieces and it is not the first time that has happened.

Stop feeding them, leaving them to find their own food, and the population will settle down to a naturally sustainable number, and it is unlikely that we will upset the population of other species.

Tue 25 May 2021, 18:48

 I was under the impression that red kites were reintroduced to The Chilterns and I borrowed the word from the RSPB website.

Tue 25 May 2021, 18:14

Not just scavengers, saw one swoop on a bluetit recently, faster than a red arrow. Beautiful but red in tooth and claw! We all gotta eat...

Tue 25 May 2021, 16:56

When they were first reintroduced in the Chilterns there were reports of them attacking people and pubs in the area were asked not to put food out for them (feeding the kites to attract customers). My grandmother lived in Didcot at the time and they were told not to put out food for them for the same reason - it might be great to have the birds in your garden, but they're big and can be aggressive if they feel their food source is being threatened. 

Tue 25 May 2021, 16:34

I love seeing the kites myself, but perhaps Angus is alluding to growing numbers of reports in Britain of them hassling people - a quick Google reveals a headline in today's Times, no less: "Red alert over Henley as hungry kites attack town". And I do know of two people in Charlbury who have had a kite swoop right at them in the fields east of the town!

Tue 25 May 2021, 16:16

Angus, the Red Kite is native to the UK (it has not been reintroduced). It is classed as a raptor but it is largely a scavenger - feeding on carrion and occasionally small mammals (voles and mice). It is no threat to pets or songbirds.

Could you explain why you think it is a bird we should be wary of?

Tue 25 May 2021, 13:14

Why?

Tue 25 May 2021, 12:10

Beautiful to watch but it wouldn't surprise me if, within a generation or two, people will be ruing the time when these birds were reintroduced!

Tue 25 May 2021, 12:10

If you walk along the lane from Fawler towards East End, they fly really low over the field to the right and you can see them quite close up. They are beautiful.

Tue 25 May 2021, 11:51

What amuses me is the sight of squadrons of rooks coming up from the Hixet Wood rookery to confront this apparent 'enemy'. The kites simply soar higher - so effortless and they do seem to be having a laugh at all 'the sound and the fury' below them.

Mon 24 May 2021, 20:16

They fly over my house all the time there beautiful 

Mon 24 May 2021, 19:05

Over flying my field.so beautiful.