Once rare red kites 'are becoming a pest' (From The Oxford Times)

Once rare red kites 'are becoming a pest'

11:40am Thursday 2nd February 2012 in Wallingford By Andrew Ffrench

A red kite

ONCE rare red kites are becoming a pest because too many people are feeding them, according to conservationists.

Between 1989 and 1994, 93 fledgling kites were released in the Chilterns where the birds had been hunted to extinction.

Now it is estimated there are more than 1,000 pairs in the area.

But conservationists say too many people are feeding them and some birds are becoming a menace.

Chilterns Conservation Board spokesman Cathy Rose is appealing to people not to feed the kites.

The call comes after the board received reports that the birds were clustering over villages looking for food.

Ms Rose said: “Red kites are now a familiar and much-loved sight over the Chilterns, with many residents gaining great pleasure from seeing them.

“But we believe that red kites are clustering over our villages and coming worryingly close to people and pets because they have become accustomed to being fed.

“They are not aggressive birds, but are merely capitalising on feeding opportunities.

“They have learnt over several years that an easy source food can be found close to human habitation, so they are now seeking it out.

“The only way to stop them swooping into schools and gardens is to remove the source of food.

“Soon, they will realise there is nothing for them in that locality and will search elsewhere.”

Ms Rose added that the reintroduction of red kites to the Chilterns had been “an incredible conservation success”, with the population increasing year by year.

But she said the birds’ increasing numbers could be sustained by natural food sources, such as rats, mice and voles.

• The reintroduction of red kites is one of the 20th century’s greatest conservation success stories.

More than 90 birds were introduced to the Chilterns from Spain between 1989 and 1994.

At the time there were concerns that the birds of prey would pose a threat to smaller game birds, livestock and wildlife.

Red kites – Latin name Milvus milvus – have distinctive, forked tails and a five-feet wing span. The success in the Chilterns has allowed young kites from the area to be moved to new sites around the country and there are now other populations of red kites across the country, from mid-Wales to Scotland.