Although easily disturbed by people, kites do not mind other pairs of kites nearby. They will use nests abandoned by other birds, or will build their own in tall trees. In March, they begin to spend more time in suitable nesting areas. ![]() The red kites of the Chilterns are a great example of what a successful conservation project can achieve. ![]() They’re now surviving and thriving and public support for these beautiful birds is strong. Between 19, kites from Spain were imported and released into the Chilterns by the RSPB and English Nature (now Natural England). In the 1990s a major conservation project saw the successful reintroduction of red kites in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. By the 1980s, a small remnant population of red kites in Wales had become one of only three globally threatened species in the UK. Persecution intensified in Victorian times and they became extinct in the UK in 1871. They’ve gone from being protected by royal decree in the middle ages because their scavenging abilities helped keep the streets clean, to having a bounty on their head in the 16 th century and being persecuted as ‘vermin’. One of the best places to see them in the UK is the Chilterns.ĭespite their current prevalence, red kites have survived a history of persecution and weathered huge ups and downs in public perception. ![]() Red kites are one of Britain’s most magnificent and distinctive birds of prey, with fanned forked tails, a reddish-brown body and a distinctive mewing call. Possibly the most iconic bird of prey of the Chilterns, red kites are a marvel to see circling overhead in the Chiltern Hills
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