Red kites in Shropshire
The Red Kite was last recorded nesting in Shropshire near Ludlow in 1876. Their extinction in England was the result of sustained persecution but a few pairs remained in Wales. However, regular sightings of this attractive raptor in recent years raised hopes that they might return to breed in Shropshire again.
Mature pairs nest in late March, but pairs breeding for the first time may not have eggs until mid April, or even early May. Although the proportion of broods of two or three is slowly increasing, more than half of the successful nests only produce one fledged young, and the average productivity rate is less than one per breeding pair.
Red Kites usually start breeding when they are two or three years old, though some start later, and the average age of first breeding is just below three. Young birds wander widely and cover large distances very quickly whilst foraging for food, so most of these recent local sightings will be due to immature Red Kites. Around one-third die in their first year, but after that the annual survival rate is around 80%, and some birds live to 20 or over.
Red Kites are the most graceful of Britain’s birds of prey, but they almost became extinct in Britain 100 years ago, through human persecution. Only a few pairs were left in the hills of mid Wales by the early 1930s, and in some years only a single chick was raised. Since then numbers have slowly increased, assisted by a variety of systematic conservation measures, to 30 pairs in 1972, and more rapidly from the mid 1980s, finally reaching 100 pairs by 1993 and an estimated 260 pairs in 2000. The population is now growing much more rapidly, and their range has also expanded from the stronghold in mid Wales, near Tregaron and Rhayader, and there are now several known Welsh nest sites close to the Shropshire border. By 2005 there were around 500 pairs in Wales. A pair has also nested in Herefordshire since 2004 and a second pair bred successfully in 2007. Both these sites are close to the Shropshire border.
Six nests were found in 2007, when five young fledged, and in 2008 seven nests were found. Six pairs were successful, producing 12 fledged young.
In 2009, 10 Kite nests were found. They were all in the AONB in the southwest Shropshire hills. Nine pairs were successful producing 18 fledged young.
Reported sightings of red kites from shropshirebirds.com
25 Apr 2010 Cronkhill, Cross Houses
19 Apr & 22 Mar 2010 Venus Pool, Cound, between Cross Houses and Cressage
19 Oct 2009 Nash, Tenbury Wells, Shropshire
9 Oct 2009 Crudgington, Telford, Shropshire
14 Sep 2009 Forton Heath, Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury
NOTE: Recordings of breeding behaviour is not given on this website, the above, then is a mere taster of activity in and around Shropshire.