Red kite history

Red kites were once the most common bird of prey in Britain. In medieval times, they were even found in some of our towns and cities where they played a useful role in cleaning the streets, scavenging as they do for scraps of food. During the 19th century kites, along with other birds of prey, were persecuted to the point of extinction. Only a handful of kites managed to survive in the remote Welsh valleys.

As attitudes changed, numbers slowly recovered in Wales, but by the 1980s it became clear that re-colonisation of red kites to the rest of Britain was unlikely to occur naturally. After careful consideration, plans were made to reintroduce young red kites from Europe.

The first re-introduction of red kites took place on the Black Isle in 1989 and has since been followed by similar efforts in The Chilterns, Gateshead, Stirling, Dumfries and Galloway and Aberdeen.