Red Kite Sighting Oaks Barn Farm Warwickshire B49 5LS
Not the first sighting, but for me the fifth, but by far the best not just one but a pair of Red Kite flying low and slow across Oaks Barn Farm.
So the 10th of May 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, one could speculate that a reduction in Road Traffic, possibly a reduction in roadkill, have forced them to go searching further afield, but a thing of pure beauty all the same.
Red Kite Facts
The Red Kite are scavengers and not the best of hunters, so road kill does form much of their diet.
Once one of the most common birds of prey in the UK, their numbers plummeted in the 16th and 17th Centuries to the point of their population being completely wiped out. However, between 1989 and 1994 a total of 93 kite chicks from Spain were released into the Chiltern Hills as part of a reintroduction programme. The first pair bred successfully in 1991 and there are now over 200 breeding pairs in the Chilterns and from this foundation, new populations are being established across the country.
Easily recognised by its distinctive forked tail. The females are usually larger and heavier than the males and can weigh up to 1.3kg and are between 24 – 26 inches long with a wingspan of approximately 5 feet. They can live up to 10 years in the wild.
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