Red Kites over Brent and Harrow. Have you seen them?

 

Red Kite (RSPB)

Red Kites were re-introduced into England in July 1990 in the Chiltern Hills. They had been wiped out by by persecution but the re-introduced birds were breeding by the next year.  They are a wonderful sight over the hills, easily reached by the Metropolitan and Chiltern lines.

However, I have seen them occasionaly in Brent, usually singly and high in the sky and last week asked on Twitter about sightings.

I had many replies with up to 6 seen over Northwick Park, but usually two and others seen in Wembley (by someone on their way to the Coldplay Concert), Sudbury Town, Alperton, South Harrow, Preston Road, Barn Hill, Fryent Country Park and even Wembley High Road.

You will sometimes see them mobbed by crows. Keep your eyes open and Tweet (no joke intended) @WembleyMatters to say where you have seen them.

It would be wonderful if we had our own breeding pairs in North West London.

 

Red Kites spotted over Fryent Country Park, Kingsbury

The Barn Hill Conservation Group August Newsletter has reported sightings of Red Kites over Fryent Country Park.

Pete Stevens of the Southern England Kite Group told me that this is not the first sighting over London of these magnificent birds but I think it is the first in our area.

He told me that young kites in their first year often explore away from their home territory and that probably accounts for the sighting. They tend to return to the area where they fledged to nest but suggested local naturalists should listen out for them calling to each other if they are seen in the Spring. This was one indicator of them nesting in the area.

Background information

Red kites were driven to extinction in England by human persecution by the end of the nineteenth century. A small population survived in Wales, but there was little chance of these birds repopulating their original areas.

Between 1989 and 1994, kites from Spain were imported and released into the Chilterns by the RSPB and English Nature (now Natural England). Red kites started breeding in the Chilterns in 1992 and now there could be over 1,000 breeding pairs in the area. The reintroduction has been so successful it is not possible to monitor all the nests, so the overall size of the population can only be estimated. Source

Where to see Red Kites

Reports of sightings can be made directly to the Southern England Kite Group via their website www.sekg.org.uk or by calling Pete Stevens on 07761 205 833