Call To Help With Red Kites

Public encouraged to help monitor Grizedale Forest’s red kites

Wildlife lovers are being asked to keep an eye out for red kite chicks, released as part of a Forestry Commission-led reintroduction programme in Cumbria’s Grizedale Forest.

A dedicated Facebook page has been created to help people report sightings, get updates on the birds’ progress and to share photographs.

A dispersal map has been produced by Forestry Commission wildlife rangers at Grizedale. It shows that most of the red kites that were released in the first two years of the reintroduction programme have been spotted in the North West – particularly Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire. However, other birds have travelled into Scotland and as far south as London and over the English Channel.

Iain Yoxall, the Forestry Commission wildlife ranger who has led the red kite reintroduction programme in Grizedale, said: “The birds appear to be faring as well as we expected and are adapting to life in the wild.
The birds from our first release, in 2010, should start looking for nesting sites in the South Lakes area between April and July this year. Although we do not expect any successful mating attempts this year we should see displays of courtship behaviour such as hunting for nest sites in woodland, pairing up and building nests.

"We would really like the public to help us monitor the progress of the red kites. The more information we can get back from people the bigger the picture we will have on how the kites are faring. We would like people to let us know if they see any of our birds, which are marked with distinctive tags, by using our new Facebook page or by sending us an email.”

All of the birds released in Grizedale carry an orange tag on their left wing. The red kites released in 2010 have a blue tag on their right wing, and last year’s birds carry a white tag on their right wing.
People can report sightings of the Grizedale birds by visiting the newly created Red Kites Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/GrizedaleRedKites or by emailing red.kite@forestry.gsi.gov.uk


For more information about the Forestry Commission in the Lake District please visit http://www.visitlakelandforests.co.uk/.