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Grizedale Forest’s red kite chicks survive their first winter18/04/2011 19:34:34
MADE IT: This red kite survived its first winter at Grizedale Up to 30 birds made it through April 2011: Most of the red kite chicks released by the Forestry Commission in the Lake District's Grizedale Forest last summer have survived the harsh winter. Wildlife rangers believe that around 20 of the 30 birds that were released in the first year of a three-year reintroduction programme made it through the winter and are still in the area. The Forestry Commission estimates that between five and eight red kites are living in and around the Grizedale and Rusland valleys in South Lakeland, with another three to five birds in the Kirkby Moor area, near Ulverston. Four more Grizedale red kites have been spotted by RSPB experts at feeding stations in Dumfries and Galloway - the furthest known movement is by the bird tagged as number four, which has flown 120km north west into Scotland. Forestry Commission wildlife ranger Iain Yoxall said: ‘The birds are doing pretty much exactly as we expected which is very encouraging. We are more confident that these birds will make it to adults now they have made it through a harsh winter. ‘Sadly we lost a few birds but that is natural and is why we have to release the numbers that we did.' The public have been a fantastic help Mr Yoxall, who has been following the birds' movements around Cumbria, said the help he has received from the public has been invaluable. ‘I have been radio tracking the birds but sightings from members of the public have been a fantastic help and greatly appreciated. This has been very important because it helps us find the birds and backs up our radio tracking results to give us a more robust picture of the their movements. ‘We hope that the public will continue to help us by letting us know when and where they make sightings of the red kites.' The Grizedale programme is the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK, and the final phase of reintroductions in England. Red kites were almost eradicated from the UK following changes in farming practices and human persecution between the 16th and 19th centuries. However they managed to cling on in mid Wales and their numbers recovered slowly thanks to the actions of local conservationists. The red kites being introduced into Grizedale are the product of a reintroduction programme that took place in Northamptonshire in the 1980s.
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