Taken at Aston Upthorpe Downs, Oxon., on April 29th 2025. (© David Hastings)
(1/1000th sec at f/10. Click image for larger version)
Taken at Gigrin Farm, Powys, on May 4th 2019. (© David Hastings)
(1/800th sec at f11. Click image for larger version)

Description

L: 61 - 72 cm; WS: 140 - 165 cm

The Red Kite is an elegant bird, soaring with long wings held at a dihedral, its long forked tail twisting as it changes direction. The body, upper tail and wing coverts are rufous. The white primary flight feathers contrast with the black wing tips and dark secondaries. The sexes are similar, although the female is larger and heavier.

In Britain the Red Kite became extinct in England and Scotland in the 1870s, and the breeding population became restricted to a handful of pairs in Wales before it began to recover. In 2004, at least 216 pairs were thought to have hatched eggs in Wales.

In 1989 six Swedish birds were released at a site in north Scotland and four Swedish and one Welsh bird in Buckinghamshire. Altogether, 93 birds of Swedish and Spanish origin were released at each of the sites. In the second stage of reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, further birds were brought over from Germany to populate the areas of Dumfries and Galloway, and the Derwent Valley.

The reintroductions in The Chilterns have been a particular success, with a now well-established strong population across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

The UK breeding population is estimated at 1000 pairs. It is amber status on the British list, due to its historical decline.

Sightings