Red Kite Adoptions

Whilst adult red kites typically remain resident to one area all year round, juvenile (young) red kites truly spread their wings in the first 2 years of their lives.  Juveniles originating from the Black Isle have in the past travelled to Iceland, Portugal and even the Azores!  This may be a product of their lineage – our Black Isle birds are descended from a migratory population which shift between breeding in the cooler climes of Sweden and wintering further south in Portugal and Spain.  Whatever the reason for this wanderlust, it is fair to say that these birds are exciting candidates for dispersal studies using satellite technology, often ending up in the least place you would expect them to go as well as achieving a fair amount of socialising along the way!

Since the summer of 2009, a number of red kites chicks born on the Black Isle have been fitted with solar powered satellite tags so that we can track their movements from the moment they fledge until the age of 2 or 3, coinciding with the time when they should be setting up nests of their very own.  The tag and its harness weigh no more than 20 g and have no perceptible impact on the birds movement or abilities.  These tagged red kites are being regularly tracked by a fanbase of schoolchildren who have given each bird a fitting nickname.  Please click on these individual names to find out more about each of our intrepid red kites.