PEOPLE feeding Red Kites could be behind the birds attacking walkers and picnickers, according to a wildlife trust. "They're opportunist birds so if they do have the opportunity they will take scraps. They're not attacking people they are just trying to find food."
The social aspect of the red kite is best exhibited during the winter when large numbers of them gather together to roost at night in a particular forest or copse of trees. Communal kite roosting is a behaviour witnessed throughout the species range.
The Chilterns Conservation Board urges the public not to feed red kites. We believe they should be left to feed naturally in the wider countryside, thus enabling them to find a naturally sustainable level.
The main threats they face are illegal poisoning by bait left out for foxes and crows, secondary poisoning by rodenticides, and collisions with power cables. These problems are continually being addressed to reduce their impact on the kites.
ONCE rare red kites are becoming a pest because too many people are feeding them, according to conservationists. Between 1989 and 1994, 93 fledgling kites were released in the Chilterns where the birds had been hunted to extinction. Now it is estimated there are more than 1,000 pairs in the area.
By 1996, at least 37 pairs were breeding in southern England. Today, there are more than 10,000 red kites across Britain. “In a few short decades we have taken a species from the brink of extinction to the UK being home to almost 10% of the entire world population.
It has been important to reassure landowners and gamekeepers that red kites pose no risk to game shooting interests or livestock. Most have seen this for themselves, and are now proud to have kites nesting on their land, protecting them and monitoring their success.
Red kites are renowned nest predators especially of rooks and crows. When a red kite decides not to move on but to carry on circling lazily, low over the fields, then the level of aggression will build and the interaction develop into an angry dogfight.
The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region of Europe and northwest Africa, though it formerly also occurred in northern Iran.
Although they will take chicks it is unlikely they will tackle an adult bird. Red Kites have grown in number over recent years and will certainly (personal experience) take chicks and small hens.
They behave in this way as they can use their keen eyesight to detect prey on the ground far below. Climbing to great heights enables them to cover a greater distance in search of food, which for red kites is usually carrion.
Red Kites possess excellent eyesight and hunt from the air by circling over open ground or fields, keeping an eye out for prey. They often glide for long distances close to the ground followed by deep, lethargic wing beats. The wingspan of Red Kites can reach up to 170 cm.
A programme to reintroduce red kites into wild has been hailed "the UK's biggest conservation success story". The birds were wiped out in Scotland and England in the 19th Century by people who mistakenly believed they were feeding on livestock and gamebirds.
Kites hunt on the wing, soaring and circling over open ground. They are mainly carrion eaters, but are quite capable of killing small mammals and birds.
Red kites have a wing-span of 5ft (1.5m), but according to the RSPB "would not be able to pick up a dog". Sam Stokes, from the RSPB, said red kites usually targeted worms and road kill. He said: "At this time of year they can become territorial if they are nesting nearby.
A new study has found that the probability of attack by kites, birds of prey that inhabit urban areas, increases in neighbourhoods where human population is high and conditions are unhygienic. The birds also get more aggressive when they have eggs in their nests.
Red Kites are scavengers and prefer to eat dead animals, road kill. They have been seen to take smaller, softer animals such as mice, voles, rabbits, crows and pigeons but they are fairly weak hunters in comparison to say a buzzard. They also eat invertebrates such as beetles and earth worms, especially in Spring.
A high-pitched piped whistle, which is usually heard around the nest and during breeding season. Did you know? In the middle ages, red kites were protected by royal decree, under pain of death, for keeping city streets clean of human debris, dead animals and butchers' off-cuts - and thus minimising the stench.
So it seems that red kites can become fearless opportunists especially if there is not enough carrion for them to feed on and they're not scared of man. And even if they are just stealing food, rather than attacking prey, they can still be very frightening because of their size.
Although rare, kites and kite flying can be dangerous. Kites should be flown in open areas, away from power lines, roads and people. If your kite gets caught in a power line, leave it!
Unlikely, but your cat will be hard wired to view birds of prey as dangerous and act accordingly. As PP said, they are scavengers. I visit a pet food factory and an abattoir in a red kite area and they hang around those like vultures!
RSPB spokesman Tom Waters said it would be "most unusual" for a red kite to attack a dog, no matter how tiny the pet was. But he added "They are opportunistic and can take small mammals." Red kites were re-introduced to the Chilterns in 1989.
Red kites do kill their prey as well. Generally speaking they're scavengers, so it's an easy mistake to make! As for the OP, I wouldn't risk it either.
Central Wales, central England - especially the Chilterns, central Scotland - at Argaty and along the Galloway Kite Trail are the best areas to find them. You can see red kites all year round.
Diet. The Red Kite is a scavenger. However the Red Kite also kills live prey including mice, voles, rabbits, squirrels, birds up to the size of crow and gull. They also eat worms, beetles and other large insects.
