A few months ago, news broke of a Red Kite rescued in Oxfordshire which was one of the original reintroduction birds brought over from Spain and released into the UK. This bird was found on a path with injuries after being attacked by other birds and taken in by a local rescue, but unfortunately didn’t recover from his injuries. From the ring on his leg, the rescue discovered that he was ringed as a chick in 1994 before being released into the Thames Valley.
Last week, we received news of another elderly Red Kite being found, although a bit further away. Bev Forbes found the remains of a Red Kite on a road near her home in Dingwall, Scottish Highlands. The bird had been run over by several vehicles before Bev found it, and only the tail was identifiable. Bev saw that the bird had a ring on its leg, so reported it to the Natural History Museum, who coordinate ringing recoveries on behalf of the British Trust for Ornithology.
The Red Kite was found at the side of the road with a ring on it’s leg.
The report she received back told her that this bird was ringed as a nestling in 1993, by Roy Dennis in the Black Isle of the Scottish Highlands. Roy Dennis has been involved with many successful raptor reintroductions over the years, include White Tailed Eagles to West Scotland in the 90s, and more recently to the Isle of White, and establishing the first breeding Ospreys in England for
This bird was 30 years old when it died, which makes it the oldest wild Red Kite in the UK!
Susan, our Education Officer says “This is an amazing ringing recovery, highlighting how little we know about these amazing birds and the importance of the ringing scheme!” We will make contact with the Roy Dennis Foundation to try and determine whether this Scottish bird was part of the release programme in Scotland, or whether it was one of the first Scottish “born” Red Kites since their reintroduction.