Some more information about this project, with the first birds due to be released this summer:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-162202
GOOD NEWS!:t:
Red kites' return takes off at secret site
FRANK URQUHART
(
[email protected])
The Scotsman
RED kite chicks are set to herald the return of a magnificent bird of prey to the skies above Scotland's third-largest city for the first time in more than 100 years.
Red kites have not nested in the north-east of Scotland since they were persecuted to extinction in the late 19th century.
But yesterday, the first of 90 red kite chicks were released on private land on the outskirts of Aberdeen, in the initial phase of a three-year scheme to help the species re-colonise a landscape in which it was once a familiar sight.
Each year, 30 red kite chicks will be released by experts from RSPB Scotland at a secret location close to the city, where they will be held in specially constructed cages until they are ready to fledge. The birds, which feed on carrion, will be wingtagged and fitted with radio transmitters to track their progress throughout the reintroduction scheme.
The RSPB is also hoping the public will play its part in the recolonisation project by reporting sightings to help to monitor their behaviour and wellbeing. A feeding station will be established for the birds
Jenny Lennon, the RSPB's Aberdeen Red Kite project officer, said: "Red kites are spectacular acrobats with a 5ft wingspan and forked tail. This is really exciting news for people in the North-east, who should have a good chance of seeing these wonderful birds soaring high above Aberdeen and the surrounding area in future.
"We've successfully reintroduced this species to other parts of the country, and now everything is in place for us to do the same here. Red kites were once common and we hope that people will be proud to have them back."
Red kites were almost wiped out by being poisoned and shot by gamekeepers during the reign of Queen Victoria, leaving only a tiny population in a remote part of North Wales by the beginning of the 20th century.
A reintroduction programme started in 1989 when red kites from Sweden were introduced in the Black Isle in Scotland and the Chilterns in England, and the UK population now numbers close to 500 pairs, with about 90 pairs in Scotland.
The 30 chicks being used in the first year of the Aberdeen scheme have been collected from sites around the UK, including the Chilterns, the Black Isle and Central Scotland.
Davey Fitch, a spokesman for RSPB Scotland, explained: "Aberdeen red kites comprise the latest jigsaw piece in the UK re- introduction effort, as it was unlikely that the birds would have recolonised the area themselves. Chicks collected from around the country will be held in enclosures at a secret location for their protection, designed specially to replicate the last few weeks that they would have spent in the nest.
"The countryside around Aberdeen should be an ideal habitat for red kites, with plenty of available food. Kites are mainly scavengers, eating mainly dead rabbits and birds."
The RSPB expects survival rates to be "reasonably high", as illegal bird of prey poisonings in the area are comparatively rare.
This article:
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=963122007
Last updated: 19-Jun-07 00:42 BST
