Red Kite Chicks Update

Grizedale Forest’s Red Kite Chicks Update

It's been reported that most of the red kite chicks released by the Forestry Commission in the Lake District's Grizedale Forest last summer have survived the harsh winter.

Wildlife rangers believe that around 20 of the 30 birds that were released in the first year of a three-year reintroduction programme made it through the winter and are still in Cumbria or nearby counties.


The Forestry Commission estimates that between five and eight red kites are living in and around the Grizedale and Rusland valleys in South Lakeland, with another three to five birds in the Kirkby Moor area, near Ulverston.


Four more Grizedale red kites have been spotted by RSPB experts at feeding stations in Dumfries and Galloway – the furthest known movement is by the bird tagged as number four, which has flown 120km north west into Scotland.

Red kites, which are coloured rust red and have white patches under their wings, are scavengers that feed primarily on carrion – dead animals. The Grizedale programme is the ninth reintroduction of red kites into different regions of the UK, and the final phase of re-introductions in England.


This year’s birds will hatch in May and be brought up to Grizedale around late June ready for release in August. A special advisory group has been established, containing bird experts from organisations like Natural England, the RSPB, Cumbria Raptor Study Group and the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, to help ensure the project’s success.


For more information about Grizedale Forest please visit www.forestry.gov.uk/grizedale