Feeding red kites in urban areas

[Monkey Orchid]

Yesterday I was watching a red kite circling over the housing estate in which I live. I love these birds, always have done since I used to work on a reserve near Henley in Oxfordshire where we saw them every day.

I have heard of people putting food out for red kites, e.g. in gardens and on garage roofs. Is this a good idea, or does it encourage them to become too dependent on human support? A neighbour has been putting out bread recently on their shed roof, which mainly attracts black headed gulls and the odd jackdaw. We have the usual seed feeders etc on our apple tree, which attract a good mix of smaller birds.

Also, if people were to put food out for red kites, what would be appropriate? I'm assuming things like roadkill would be OK (if a tad unpleasant to handle).

[Pete Collins]

I remember some time ago that people were besing asked not to feed the Red Kites near their release site in the Chilterns, as such feeding was now hindering their dispersal further afield.

A quick internet search found these guidelines which may be of use to you:
http://www.chilternsaonb.org/downloa...guidelines.pdf

[nigel_b]

When we were in the Chilterns earlier in 2009 we were amazed at the red kite numbers scavenging around like gulls. The pdf in the previous post is really helpful in clarifying the feeding situation.

[Foz]

I thought it was illegal to feed BOP in the UK without a licence?
The Welsh feeding centres have to be licenced and all meat fed to the kites must be fit for human consumption.
Kites are great scavengers, and will often rob other birds of thier food, and where I live, they seem to do very well without human intervention.

[Helo]

Originally Posted by Foz

I thought it was illegal to feed BOP in the UK without a licence?
The Welsh feeding centres have to be licenced and all meat fed to the kites must be fit for human consumption.
Kites are great scavengers, and will often rob other birds of thier food, and where I live, they seem to do very well without human intervention.

A licence is required for setting up official feeding stations. We have never had any feeding stations in the Chilterns, and there are currently no plans to. However many people do feed in small quantities privately.

Monkey Orchard, you may want to take a look at the guidance linked, alternatively similar guidance is available on the website below.

I have received numerous emails this past few days asking whether they should feed the kites. In normal circumstances, supplementary feeding isn't necessary, albeit the kites do appreciate 'a treat'. However, given that the snow in the Chilterns is hanging around for a long time, the kites could do with a helping hand, as do all the other birds.

If you do feed, please try to provide raw meat (chicken/beef etc). Or if you have a cat that brings in presents for you such as voles/mice etc, this is ideal for the kites. Regarding the roadkill, it's probably better to leave it where it is (or move safely to the side), such that this gives the other kites a chance to feed on it.

For more info, please see the website redkites.net I am part of the monitoring team - if you have any questions about the Chilterns kites, feel free to email me.

Regarding dispersal - they are dispersing well into the surrounding counties. For obvious reasons, when they nest away from the Chilterns, this isn't always made public. Kites can and are seen almost anywhere these days, they do tend to be the non breeding birds (not always), who will often return to their natal area ready for breeding (again, not always!).

[Monkey Orchid]

Thanks for the info, folks. That pdf is very useful, I'll email the link to my parents as they get the kites round them a lot as well.

Thanks for the advice and the website link, Helo. I'll PM or email you if I have further red kite questions. Cheers.

[buckaroo]

Not in Thatcham, Berks are you? We see quite a few here, one was circling us over the playground a few days ago and my daughter pointed one out to teachers at her preschool!