K is for Kites
A wildlife success story, or are the ubiquitous circling kites on the lookout for food becoming an aerial nuisance?
Welcome to the next instalment of my new A - Z Chilterns Treasures journey of discovery in the Chiltern Hills, the space between London and Oxford where I live.
We’ve reached the letter K already, and I wanted to thank you for the wonderful feedback I’ve received. It can at times feel like talking to an empty room, but now you tell me you like the way the content is shared and the frequency is just right. I have plans for bringing this all together next spring, watch this space.
This week is the letter ‘K for Kites’, the red kites that are synonymous with the region. One moved into our neighbourhood recently. It sits on an unfeasibly thin branch at the top of a tree, calling out in the autumn sunshine. I am unsure if it’s claiming territory or getting a head start on finding a mate?
These birds of prey can be identified in flight from their large forked tail and meowing call. But if you’ve tried to take a photograph, the resulting fuzzy dots are for instant deletion from my photo library! Thank you Steve Gozdz who has kindly given me permission to use his beautiful images. Aren’t they a bird of wonder?
Across the Chilterns, you will find a red kite close, red kite lane, Red Kite Community Housing, a Red Kite Cafe and the Kite at the Red Hart pub.
Did you know that kites can live up to 25 – 30 years? Like robins, kites are impossible to tell apart unless you have a male and female lined up beside one another.
Are these lucky birds?
Thanks to a successful reintroduction project, kites have made a remarkable comeback from the brink of extinction in the UK. Bred from Spanish birds and released in the Chiltern Hills between 1989 and 1994, you will now see them pretty much across the country. I’ve seen them following a farmer ploughing a field as they feast on worms and grubs, circling above a Princes Risborough pub and their overflowing bins, around Beacon Hill as they fly into the prevailing wind, tweaking their tail feathers to hover over the grass looking for food. They are a common sight along with magpies and crows trying their luck in the traffic to pick through roadkill. And this is perhaps what they do best: tidy up and keep the countryside and some urban spaces clean. This is what they did until they were exterminated by the Victorians who poisoned them. Sadly, some birds are still poisoned or their eggs are stolen, but not in the numbers that threaten extinction.
Public opinion is on their side, but they can be seen as pests because they like to help themselves to our stuff. William Turner a 16th century naturalist wrote in 1555 that:
“Such is the daring of our kites, that they often take bread from children, fish from women, and cloths from hedges and from the hands of men. Indeed, they will take the hats from people’s heads during the time when they are nesting.”
My experience of this was enjoying a picnic on a walk in Yoesden Nature Reserve when a kite hovered, dropped like a stone and removed a cheese and pickle sandwich out of a hand that was conveying it into a mouth! It was over in seconds.
There are signs around Higginson Park in Marlow warning parents and diners to be careful, increasingly pubs with gardens are having to warn customer too. And there are the dumb folk who put food out which just encourages bad behaviour all round.
Let’s keep an eye on our kites, and our sandwiches. I love to watch them and feel we are better off with them, don’t you?
You can always get up close to kites in the Natural History Museum in Tring, where they gaze at you, sullen and silent through the glass. Stuffed for prosperity.
This weeks images are with permission from Steve Gozdz, thank you! The content is copyright of Mary Tebje and may not be reproduced without permission. If you enjoyed this post, please share and give it a ❤️
The next instalment may take a bit of time in coming to you as I will be visiting Luton and I may not find my way back! Seriously, it’s because L is for ‘Hats off to Luton’. I didn’t time it quite right as it’s Bedfordshire Day tomorrow, November 28th, celebrating one of the unsung English Counties that’s forever enveloped in mystery and myth. It’s John Bunyan’s birthday too. Read about one of the greatest non-conformers and authors here in Pulpit straight to Prison:
Links you will need
I always recommend going with a guide, and Steve Gozdz whose photographs these are, runs GG Wildlife Experience walks and workshops in and around the Chilterns. He has also spotted several Otters in the Thames at Goring. Perhaps O is for otters?
Find out more about red kites on the Chilterns National Landscape website.
To look through earlier A - Z features including the Hand of St James;
