Red kite crash lands

Photo: Wikimedia CommonsA young red kite fitted with a satellite tag has survived an early brush with danger to be rescued by a gamekeeper after crash landing near Munlochy on the Black Isle. The bird was one of 10 fitted with the tags by RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection Birds) Scotland as part of a new project, Eyes to the Skies, to link the magnificent birds in with local communities and schools, and was being followed online at www.eyestotheskies.org.uk ever since fledging its Black Isle nest in July.

The bird, adopted by Farr Primary school, was discovered tangled up in equipment on the Craigiehowe Mains shooting estate by local keeper Rob Colyer. Rob quickly phoned the SSPCA, who took H in overnight and checked his condition. He seemed to be in good shape, and has been re-released after his scare.

Rob said: “The kite was looking very sorry for itself when I found it and didn’t seem to be grateful to be rescued. However I’m delighted to have been able to help and even more pleased to hear that it has been able to take to the air once more. I look forward to seeing it again over the estate in happier circumstances!”

The RSPB’s Red Kite Project Officer Claire Buchanan said: “He has been checked over and successfully released and should be none the worse for his experience.

“We have satellite-tagged ten young Red Kites this year and each has been adopted by a local primary school as part of the 'Eyes to the Skies' project, which let us identify this kite as the one adopted by Farr Primary School. One of the jobs of the school children is to name their kite and it will be very interesting to see what the children in Farr come up with. Maybe they’ll name him after Rob Colyer who rescued the bird!”

Local estate owners and keepers are being asked to keep an eye on the birds and report back any interesting examples of behaviour. These will be forwarded on to the school concerned.

The Eyes to the Skies project is backed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW Scotland), Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), Highland Council, Leader Highland, Leader Cairngorms, and RS MacDonald Trust.

The project

Red kites were once common all over the British Isles, before widespread killing of the birds in Victorian times led to only a few pairs surviving in mid-Wales. In 1989, the UK reintroduction project began in the South of England and the North of Scotland, and the fruits of this project are now paying off.

Almost 100 birds from Europe were released in both the Black Isle, North of Inverness, and the Chilterns in England. Subsequent releases have included Central Scotland near Doune, Dumfries and Galloway, Aberdeen and the North East of England near Gateshead.

Red kites are primarily scavengers, eating mainly dead rabbits, birds etc and don’t regularly take live prey. The Scottish population stood at 122 breeding pairs in 2008, with the UK population as a whole growing to an estimated 1200 breeding pairs, approximately five per cent of the world population.