I have to admit that these are my favourite of the raptor family and could gladly watch and listen to them all day. To watch them effortlessly soar around our skies is just a sight to behold and admire. They are a fairly common sight in many area of the UK these days but that has not always been the case.
The Red Kite is more scavenger than hunter however it was unfairly persecuted to the point of near extinction in the UK where in the early 1930s only two breeding pairs were known to survive in the British Isles - both in Central Wales. Careful protection of the Welsh kites helped the native population increase slowly, with 20 breeding pairs in 1967, 30 in 1978, 50 in 1988 and 80 in 1992. Today the Welsh population alone is thought to number between 750 and 900 pairs. The first re-introduction of Red Kites to England and Scotland took place in 1989, with the English introductions in the Chilterns, the Scottish birds being on the Black Isle. Reintroduced birds bred for the first time in England and Scotland in 1992. There are now places in the UK where birds gather, at times, in what can only be described as amazing numbers. One of the places this can be witnessed is at the Laurieston Red Kite Centre at Bellymack Farm, Dumfries & Galloway a place I visit regularly whenever in that area. The work the people put in there is nothing short of amazing with the rewards even more so. I hope you can take as much pleasure in viewing these images as I did taking them......
