Milvus milvus

Here in Oxfordshire there are Red Kites over the garden. They come particularly low in the early morning, looking for food to scavenge. They eat roadkill and will hunt small mammals and birds, but their favourite food amongst householders who love them is chicken.

It’s been a thrill to watch them so close, especially since they were almost extinct in Britain when I was a child. I went to Wales on a Biology Field trip and we ventured to a forest to watch one of the few individuals left. We saw its distinctive forked tail high above.

Persecution by landowners, often by poisoning of carrion bait, and woodland clearance have all had an effect on their population. A concerted effort to reintroduce them, including individuals from mainland Europe has been a great success and they’re now a frequent sight above the M4 and M40. And my friend’s garden.

This one is missing one of its long tail feathers which make such a distinctive ‘v’ shape in flight.

Their spectacular recovery from just a handful of birds, and the affection in which they are now held, is an encouraging sign for other species we are about to lose.

I look forward to them being common all over the UK.

More Red Kites