Red kites spreading out from Cumbria

Spreading out around Cumbria for winter

November 2010: The red kites reintroduced into the Lake District by the Forestry Commission are doing well and are spreading out around Cumbria and further afield.

KEEPING TRACK: The red kites wear two tags - one indicating they are from Cumbria, the other indicating the release year

Wildlife rangers responsible for the reintroduction of the birds at Grizedale Forest have been heartened to find that the birds are thriving and are now moving into other areas as the winter approaches. And the public perception of the reintroduction has been overwhelmingly positive.

Iain Yoxall, Forestry Commission wildlife ranger at Grizedale Forest who managed the reintroduction, said: ‘As far as we can tell the birds are doing very well. The release has gone entirely as expected. Although it is still early days in the three-year programme I'm sure it will be a success.

The public have shown a lot of interest

‘The public reception to the red kites has been really good and they have shown a lot of positive interest.' Although initially the birds stayed close to the release site within Grizedale Forest, they soon dispersed in all directions, which is a normal behaviour for juvenile raptors.

As winter approaches many of the red kites have been spotted moving southwards via Oxen Park to Ulverston. It is believed many will continue following the coastline of Morecambe Bay and spread into Lancashire. Other Cumbrian red kites, however, have been spotted heading north. One was sighted near Keswick and another was seen north of the border in the Castle Douglas area.

'It's normal for juveniles to spread their wings...'

The birds are spreading far and wide, which is normal for juveniles,' said Mr Yoxall. 'We hope that they will come back to Grizedale when they feel the urge to breed either next year or the following year. We are asking members of the public who see the birds to feed back that information to us here at Grizedale because any information is vital to help monitor the birds' progress which will also help us with future releases.'

The reintroduction of the red kites in Cumbria is a three-year project organised and run by the Forestry Commission. Thirty birds were brought as hatchlings from a Forestry Commission site in Northamptonshire and were released at Grizedale Forest in August. The same number of red kites will be released into the forest next year, and this will be repeated again in 2012.

The birds released this year have all got orange tags on either wing, signifying they are from Cumbria. They also have a blue tag on their right wing, which indicates the release year. 

Graeme Prest, Forestry Commission area manager for North West England, said: ‘The Forestry Commission is about much more than just providing timber, as well as recreation facilities we are also custodians of a wealth of wildlife that lives within our forests and woodlands.

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.