GARDEN WILDLIFE

By Alex White

PART FIFTEEN – RED KITES

We have a number of Red kites on my local patch but when the fields are being ploughed like they have been over the past few days lots of red kites come in from miles around.

Today, like yesterday we’ve been watching over 20 red kites and a similar number of buzzards circling overhead as well as sitting in the field where the tractor has been.

Red Kites were reintroduced into England after becoming locally extinct.

On the wing, they are easily recognisable by their forked tail. Closer up, they have a grey head and piercing eyes.

Red kites mainly eat dead animals as their talons aren’t strong enough to kill large prey, but they will take small mammals and chicks.

The ones in the ploughed field will be looking for worms that the plough has turned over.

I’ve heard that a few Red kites are turning up in rescue centres hungry as there isn’t as much roadkill on the roads with the current restrictions.