Red Kite Breeding
Typical Red Kite Nest
Red Kites usually lay 2-3 eggs. They nest in trees, sometimes building on top of old crows' nests or squirrel dreys. Nests are often untidy structures, kites having a habit of decorating them with a wide variety of materials. The first successful Yorkshire nest in 2000 had a teddy-bear's head and a tea-towel in it. A nest which was visited in 2006 had a St George's flag in it, this being discovered less than an hour before the kick-off in the World Cup match between England and Paraguay! A downside to this collecting habit is the amount of plastic and polythene which they incorporate into the nest, this sometimes forming an impervious layer which can result in waterlogging and the loss of eggs or young.
When breeding has been completed, much can be learned by licensed observers about what the kites have been feeding their young, by examining the contents of debris beneath nests. Whilst carrying out one of these searches on an estate in East Yorkshire, the above item was found. It was shown to the estate owner, who recognised it as being from a funeral service, held in the local church earlier in the year. Needless to say, these kites are now known as our 'religious pair'!
The Yorkshire project is unique, having had successful breeding in its first year. The female of the pair was an older, rehabilitated, bird released in September 1999. Despite problems along the way – including a significant imbalance of sexes amongst the released birds (roughly twice as many males as females); losses of birds due to poisoning; protracted release period through shortfall of young birds and the loss of a year through Foot and Mouth Disease – this exceptional early breeding trend continued.
Although the nucleus of the breeding pairs is close to the release area, recent years have seen encouraging signs of an increasing geographical spread. A totally unexpected development has been the breakaway population which has formed in the southern section of the Yorkshire Wolds. Two birds from the initial 1999 release became the first confirmed breeding pair in that area for 150 years, since when, numbers have been boosted by young which they raised, further birds moving in from Harewood and arrivals from release areas in North East England and the East Midlands.
Details of the annual breeding figures between 2000 and 2018 are shown in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1: RED KITE BREEDING FIGURES FROM 2000
|
YEAR |
TERRITORIAL PAIRS |
BREEDING PAIRS |
SUCCESSFUL PAIRS |
YOUNG RAISED |
YOUNG PER SUCCESSFUL PAIR |
|
2000 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2.00 |
|
2001 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
15 |
1.88 |
|
2002 |
10 |
10 |
9 |
20 |
2.22 |
|
2003 |
19 |
19 |
15 |
32 |
2.13 |
|
2004 |
27 |
24 |
19 |
44 |
2.32 |
|
2005 |
40 |
33 |
28 |
52 |
1.86 |
|
2006 |
45 |
40 |
36 |
75 |
2.08 |
|
2007 |
47 |
47 |
38 |
79 |
2.08 |
|
2008 |
69 |
67 |
58 |
115 |
1.98 |
|
2009 |
77 |
67 |
65 |
117 |
1.80 |
|
2010 |
84 |
77 |
70 |
147 |
2.10 |
|
2011 |
82 |
74 |
58 |
119 |
2.05 |
|
2012 |
94 |
92 |
78 |
145 |
1.86 |
|
2013 |
99 |
88 |
75 |
144 |
1.92 |
|
2014 |
112 |
106 |
91 |
171 |
1.86 |
|
2015 |
92 |
84 |
74 |
139 |
1.88 |
|
2016 |
84 |
82 |
72 |
131 |
1.82 |
|
2017 |
128 |
126 |
110 |
194 |
1.84 |
|
2018 |
124 |
117 |
98 |
179 |
1.83 |
NOTE: Surveys were incomplete in 2015 and 2016.
Monitoring has continued at a lower level and confirms an encouraging distribution.
The winter roost count in early 2022 produced a total of 290 birds over 6 sites, a somewhat lower figure than we might have expected, but which was probably a reflection of the unfavourable weather conditions