This allowed for the monitoring of the individual birds and in several recorded cases led to the recover of injured individuals who were later re-released and successfully bred in the wild. Some released individuals were tagged with radio transmitters - usually attached to the two central "deck" feathers of the tail - which would hopefully remain until those feathers were moulted out. Feeding chutes, hatches and other variations are used in rehabilitation and release of injured wild birds of prey to this day for the same reasons. To avoid the connection of humans with food, all food was provided into the aviaries through a hatch system which prevented the young kites from seeing humans when they fed. This is a technique used by modern falconers and breeders, particularly with active breeding pairs in order to keep disturbance of the nest to an absolute minimum. To enable observation of the young birds without them being aware of the presence of humans, tiny holes were made in the wooden aviaries, allowing human contact to be kept to the absolute minimum of required veterinary assessments and handling for the fitting of wing tags and transmitters. The need to keep human contact to a minimum was clearly understood - too much contact with humans, and a direct association between humans and their food, would lead to birds being unsuitable for release due to their being at least partially "imprinted" on humans - a psychological bond between the bird and humans as a perceived "parent". Several techniques, derived from and perfected by falconers, were used in the process of the successful reintroductions. ![]() This was the first phase of their eventual re-release to the wild. The young kites brought in (predominantly from populations in Spain and Sweden) would live in these aviaries for the first few weeks. These sites were selected for numerous factors including annual rainfall, height above sea level, a positive attitude from the local community and a high breeding success of buzzards in the area (indicating a sustainable food supply and low persecution levels).Īfter agreement from several landowners to support releases on their estates and the construction of wooden release aviaries on both sites, the project was begun in earnest. ![]() In 1989 a five year reintroduction project was begun in two sites - one in the Chiltern Hills and one in the Black Isle. In 1986 a Red Kite Project Team was set up by the RSPB and the Nature Conservancy Trust (now Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage, respectively) to address the fortunes of the species. ![]() The distinctive and graceful red kite was one of the most numerous species of raptor in Britain in the medieval period, but by the turn of the 19th century had been driven to extinction in England and Scotland, with a tiny population clinging on in central Wales.ĭue to the surrounding habitat not being the most suitable for the birds, the red kite population in Wales was very slow to increase, and hopes of an organic expansion of the breeding population into western England were clearly going to go unanswered.
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