Red Kites in North Wales
They’ve won the prestigious titles of Bird of the Century and Wales’ favourite bird, bouncing back from the brink of extinction thanks to conservation efforts: the red kite is certainly one of Britain’s most tenacious birds.
Milvus milvus has a wing span of nearly two metres, and is found throughout the UK as well as elsewhere throughout the world. In the same family as eagles and buzzards, it is relatively well-tempered in comparison with its cousins, and were considered useful for some time because they removed rotten food and carrion from the UK’s streets – despite King James II comment that they should be killed wherever possible.
During Medieval times, they were very common, but a campaign of violence against them during the 19th and early 20th centuries pushed them near to extinction, with just a few surviving in Cothi and Tywi valleys, away from mankind.
They became protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, and now there are over 1000 breeding pairs within the UK, where they are thriving once more.
The red kite can be identified by its drastically long and forked tail feathers which twist to change direction, and by its white primary feathers with black wing tips. Occasionally you may see the rare leucistic form, wherein the kite is almost entirely white – this isn’t the same as albinism as the bird still has coloured eyes and appendages.
The collective noun for a group of red kites is a wake, kettle, husk or roost.
Here are some of the places that you can spot red kites in Wales:
Alan and Ruth run several different types of bird-watching excursions. Their Bird Migration Days take place at RSPB Conwy in the relevant seasons, or you can enjoy a full Very Best Of North Wales or Very Best of Anglesey Daytrip. They can even do dedicated custom tours, so feel free to ask to be taken to the kites!
A red kite feeding station near Aberystwyth, the birds are fed every day at 3pm in the summer and 2pm in the winter. There are a number of bird hides near the feeding area – excellent for capturing photos – and the rare leucistic variant has been seen here.
Closer to Mid Wales than we’d usually venture, this is a 200 acre working farm with lots of bird hides, including specific photographic hides. Their afternoon feeding attracts between 300 and 600 red kites every day.
