Eden House Country Guest House B & B Accommodation - Red Kite Country
Latin name: Milvus milvus
Red Kites are distinctive because of their forked tail and striking colour - predominantly chestnut red with white patches under the wings and a pale grey head. They have a wingspan of nearly two metres (about five-and-a-half-feet), but a relatively small body weight of 2 - 3 Ibs. This means the bird is incredibly agile, and can stay in the air for many hours with hardly a beat of its wings. Red Kites are neither particularly strong nor aggressive, despite being large birds.
Primarily a scavenger and an opportunist; it profits from sheep carrion but is not capable of opening up sheep or lamb carcasses by itself and has to wait until more powerful birds such as ravens or buzzards have made the first inroads before it will attempt to feed. Red Kites are however predators and take a wide variety of live prey, ranging from earthworms to small mammals, amphibians and birds.
This magnificently graceful bird of prey is unmistakable with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail. It was saved from national extinction by one of the world's longest running protection programmes, and has now been successfully re-introduced to England and Scotland. At one time confined to Wales, a reintroduction scheme has brought them back to many parts of England and Scotland. Central Wales, central England - especially the Chilterns, central Scotland - at Argaty, and along the Galloway Kite Trail are the best areas to find them. Red Kites are now almost as common as Buzzards in the North Pembrokeshire area, and a good Red Kite spotting area is around the village of Boncath – Welsh for Buzzard!
Adult red kites are sedentary birds, and they occupy their breeding home range throughout the year. Each nesting territory can contain up to five alternative nest sites. Both birds build the nest on a main fork or a limb high in a tree, 12-20m above the ground. It is constructed of dead twigs and lined with grass and sheep’s wool. A couple of days prior to egg laying, kites decorate the nest with rubbish and oddments they find near the nest; paper, rags, crisp packets, carrier bags, even underwear and toys have been recorded. Those individuals that reach maturity can expect to live an average of 10 years. The oldest known wild kite was 26 years old.
It's all here just waiting for YOU.
Contact us NOW to book a holiday
or
just a few days away from it all.
Copyright © 2001-2009 Eden House
Eden House Country Guest House B & B Accommodation - Red Kite Country