Red kites in the Chilterns

I remember back when it was all trees and fields around here (well, actually, just after the release programme, up on the Getty estate I think), it was a real thrill to see the occasional red kite on the occasional ride in the central Chilterns. Russ Pinder did a route on STW called “where the red kite flies” and I remember riding most of it a few times just to catch a glimpse or two. Then a few of them actually started appearing around Reading, and creeping into the town.

Gradually more and more started to appear…

Today I did a little 16 mile bimble just north of Reading, around Mapledurham and Tokers Green, and saw well in excess of 30 of them! I think that qualifies as a successful re-introduction.

Yup, they’ve spread amazingly well.
Likewise Buzzards seem far more common in Hertfordshire than I remember.

Saw one near marlbourgh at the weekend, very low and nicly lit by the sun 🙂

Yep, a really successful re-introduction. I saw a couple in Kidlington on Sunday and wasn’t at all surprised.

yup saw 1 last weekend while at my parents on the dunstable downs 🙂

We had quite a few where I lived in south Oxford. On a recent trip to Wales we stopped at the feeding centre and saw this lot:

Apparently they fly in from all over the country for a free feed

Driving past High Wycombe area the other week, we must have counted about 16-20, all in the sky at the same spot. The fieldmice must be cacking themselves!

I guess the population will self-sustain but it does seem a little kite-centric currently…

Apparently a lot of the ones in Reading don’t live in the town. They fly in from the southern Chilterns. The university had a project going where they were observing them with scopes from the roof of the Oracle shopping centre multi-storey (in fact I’ve seen it myself, towards dusk on an autumn evening… they were flying back from Tilehurst, over Waitrose and the railway line, towards the woods on the other side of the river).

I guess they fly in for pickings from gardens, takeaway shop bins, etc. Classy 🙂 But at least it explains how they might be sustaining near places like Wycombe. Dawdle around in the air doing big circles for a while, then when they get a bit peckish, off to McDonalds to nick discarded chips.

The thing that really interests me now is that there’s been such a steady growth for about a decade. Today really brought it home… they were everywhere.

The chiltern population has done reall well, however due to people feeding them so much they are not spreading out as much as hoped.

common as muck here in east northants, I think the carnage on our roads is to their liking, crows don’t seem to like them much though.

Nothing like starting a ride from Watlington village and seeing the kites encircling above the car park. 8)

They’ve really spread into Hampshire, particularly the Candover Valley, and I never tire of gawping at them!

titusrider – Marlborough you say? The Downs?

I travel between Hampshire/surrey and my home in Ludlow most weeks.

On one journey home last year, I saw a Kite in Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire (all in the same journey btw 🙂 )!

Could never imagine that 10 years ago.

Sorry to be a pedant but I think these are Spanish Yellow kites (very similar to the reds) at least that’s what my pal from aylesbury told me

I saw 3 Kestrel’s above the A1 today!

they are red kites here in the chilterns as far as I know (& see).
its rare that you don’t see one now. its great 🙂

Theres a pair of peregrines on the winding towers at Kellingley Colliery

Parakeets here in epsom. Lots of em.

Red Kites near QE Park in Hampshire!! Two pairs were spotted last weekend.

Try the M40 at Stokenchurch, came back from Heathrow the other day and got bored of playing the “Oh look a kite” game.

Loads around Newbury – I’ll see a few almost every ride. When I was a kid there were never birds of prey around, so I love seeing them. Having one fly alongside for a 100m or so is a bit spooky, given they eat roadkill… it’s as if they know something about cyclists on that road.

When I’ve driven down the M40 in the past I’ve seen maybe up to 6 near to High Wycombe. I drove a friend to Heathrow on Sat and we got close to that area as it was getting light. I must have seen 20 ish along quite a stretch. I did wonder if it was the time of day, surmising that a daytime bird may find that a good time for finding nocturnal rodents who have had an extra pint and stayed up a little too late?

Living in the north cotswolds we get rather spoilt, we get a sparrowhawk in the garden, i’ve seen endless buzzards on the shoot that i beat on, kites, and i’m led to believe there are both peregrines and goshawks about

loads around the Harewood Estate & probably a 5-10 mile radius of that, between Leeds & Harrogate

Sky foxes, will soon be regarded as vermin

The red kites introduced onto the Getty Estate were from Spanish stock as the remaining welsh population wasnt concidered big enough. Not sure where the yprkshire ones were from. Used to spend a lot of time at the Aston Rowant reserve doing botanical surveys. Sometimes having not moved for somtime i’d look up and see a few kites circling me try to see if i was dead!!

The kites in chilterns are on the boarder of beinf deemed “pests” as they arent expanding geographically as they planned and they are over populated and have become a bit like seagulls, getting brazen at attacking etc. Cool to see so many flying around though

They’re certainly like fooking seagulls round my daughters school in P-Risborough 😆

Odd sighting around Farnham/Bentley but I saw one in Bagshot earlier today, which was a bit of a surprise.

I first saw them at Nant y Arian and thought wow. Now they seem almost common. As Cinnamon Girl above i started a ride in Watlington at the free carpark and there were a couple flying around sitting on rooftops and trees in peoples gardens, looked very at home.

C_g, I’ve seen them in Savernake Forest, one flying over Cherhill White Horse in the direction of Calne a couple of years ago, and last year I saw one in the centre of Avebury, while I was sitting outside the pub. They are around Bristol and south towards Taunton, I saw one mobbing a buzzard at Ham Wall reserve near Glastonbury. Those are coming across the Severn from Wales, so they’re native stock.

Sky foxes, will soon be regarded as vermin

Explain?

They’re very common now around the Ivinghoe/Tring/Wendover part of the Chilterns. When the farmer harvested the field behind our house I counted 20 following the combine, presumably to catch the rodents. They also seem to have aerial fights with the local crows quite regularly, which is quite something to watch.

Sky foxes, will soon be regarded as vermin

I hope not but there have been reports in the local press of them stealing schoolchildren’s lunches, caused I suspect by the children feeding them. “Won’t someone think of the children” and all that. Also if one of them decides to crap on your car the result isn’t pretty!

Did not know they were in Somerset. Looking forward to seeing them.

Had ride in the Chilterns recently starting from the Watlington car park. It was my first visit and at first the Kites seemed impresive, large birds of prey, prehistoric call etc . Later when you consider the numbers of them something must be losing out. In discusion with some locals over a post ride pint they seemed a bit fed up of them too.

Any experts in the house, what do they eat?

apparently there a glut of voles at the mo, causing a raptor explosion. We need more predators! hooray!

They are scavengers, they’ll eat anything, like crows and buzzards do. I’ve often seen buzzards in fields going after earthworms, digging around in ant hills. In mediaeval times in That London they were called Shitehawks, they went after all the offal and rubbish thrown into the streets, along with the ravens. Crows don’t like them, either; I’ve watched crows mobbing ravens over the Ridgeway above Avebury. If theyre causing a problem in built-up areas it the fault of the populace for giving them easy pickings, just like gulls, kites will happily take advantage of an easy, free lunch; theyre not stupid birds. Hopefully they’ll spread further across into Wiltshire and increase the numbers here, and maybe ease the population pressure in the Chilterns.

Kites are naturally hang out in groups and are scavengers but they are not dispersing because people are feeding them

Does this mean it’s fair game to shoot them now?

One or two spotted around Bath, and yes I’ve been told that they’re ‘welsh’ too, whereas I’m guessing the ones (not too far away) on the Marlborough downs will be ‘spanish’?

Do. Not.Feed. The. Kites.

Spotted a couple at the A1 / A59 junction and one on the A69 near Carlisle. Plus the better known ones near Gateshead.