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Red Kites in North and
Central Scotland - 2001
With the permission of a local farmer, a food dump was established in North Scotland in early November within 1 km of the main roost wood.
This dump was maintained two or three times a week with rabbit and roe deer remains supplied by Forest Enterprise stalkers. The dump attracted up to 20 kites at a time and proved invaluable for reading wing-tags.
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At least 77 individual Red Kites were identified. With the onset of access restrictions from late February, observations of the roost and food dump ended.
The early part of the monitoring work in both regions was seriously curtailed during the key months of March and April due to the Foot & Mouth epidemic. The much-reduced fieldwork that was carried out in these months was restricted to viewing from public roads.
As the threat from the disease decreased in May, access to most sites was obtained from farmers and land managers. By early June there was unrestricted access to nearly all known nesting areas.
In north Scotland it was apparent by early May that there were far fewer nesting pairs than had been predicted. Several long-established pairs were missing, and their nest sites seemingly abandoned. 34 nests were located (32 in 2000) of which 31 successfully reared 77 young (30 reared 74 in 2000). This was disappointing as Red Kites normally enter the breeding population when two years old. Based on previous survival estimates, around half of the 54 young wing-tagged in 1999 should have been breeding for the first time, but only three were found nesting in 2001.
Linked to this poor recruitment was the fact that the twelve months ending in April 2001 were the worst period for recorded kite deaths due to persecution since the start of the re-introduction programme in 1989. Of 11 kites found dead, eight were illegally poisoned, one was killed by road traffic and a further two died on sporting estates but their bodies were not available for post mortem. Recorded incidents involving persecution are probably only the tip of the iceberg.
Twelve five-week-old kites were removed under licence from eleven nests in a three-day period (18-20 June). Ten single chicks were taken from six broods of two young and four broods of three. In addition, two chicks were removed from a brood of four. They were housed in the former kite release cages above the RSPB reserve of Fairy Glen on the Black Isle and later transported to Galloway where they were all subsequently released successfully in early August.
In central Scotland all but one nesting pair had been pinned down by the beginning of May. A total of ten breeding pairs were located, with the first pairs on eggs by 11 April.
A further three territories were occupied by non-breeding pairs; one territory by an immature pair; and two others by single birds. Unfortunately one of the single birds (a three-year-old female) was later found poisoned with Carbofuran and a police investigation was started.
All the territories ever used since breeding started in central Scotlands in 1998 were occupied. Of the ten breeding pairs known to have eggs, at least seven were successful, fledging a total of 17 or 18 young, and giving a mean productivity of 2.43 - 2.57 young per successful nest. 15 young were wing-tagged. Of the three nests that failed, one failed with large young (probably avian predation) and two failed at the egg stage. One of the pairs that failed nested in Tayside, the first in modern times.
In June, German authorites in Saxony alerted the RSPB that they had seized 13 Red Kites as part of a large consignment of birds of prey that had been taken illegally from the wild from that part of Germany. They advised that these birds could be made available to the Scottish re-introduction programme, provided a letter of interest was lodged with the court overseeing the trial. On 13 July the 13 birds were duly imported with the assistance of British Airways. In early August 6 birds were released, following wing-tagging and ringing in central Scotland, and the other seven were transported to Dumfries and Galloway to boost their re-introduction programme (see next article).
Brian Etheridge, RSPB North Scotland Red Kite Project Officer, & Duncan Orr-Uwin, RSPB Scotland. |
