Kite flying over Swindon

Many people have noticed large birds of prey flying over north Swindon over the past couple of years, writes Matt Prior, Wiltshire Ornithological Society conservation officer.

These are two main species, the buzzard and the red kite. The latter is of particular note because it has made a dramatic comeback from near extinction. This distinctive bird has a huge wingspan of 1.7 metres and a characteristic forked tail which it twists both horizontally and vertically enabling it to fly with great agility as it searches for food.

In the 17th Century red kites were the most abundant bird of prey over London but they suffered a dramatic decline because they were persecuted by people mistakenly thinking that they were taking livestock and game birds. They became extinct in England in 1871 and by the first half of the 20th Century there were only a handful of pairs left in Wales.

In 1989 red kites were re-introduced to the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire and concerted conservation efforts enabled their population to gradually increase and in recent years their numbers have exploded with now over 2,000 pairs in the UK.

The raptor has now reached Wiltshire in good numbers and are breeding in the countryside just outside the town. But with the increased number of sightings in north Swindon it seems only a matter of time before they breed within the urban area.

Some people are concerned about the rising population of birds of prey because they think that they will attack their pets or the numbers of song birds that visit gardens will be affected.

These concerns are completely unfounded. In fact being top predators, numbers of birds of prey are actually an indicator of the health of the environment.

Red kites are different from other birds of prey in that their diet is mostly made up of carrion, and road kill forms the major part of their diet and they will also feed on earthworms in fields.

From a birdwatcher’s perspective it is fantastic to see these superb birds overhead. If they do eventually start to breed within Swindon it will be a truly notable event.

Keep looking up and hopefully you too will also get to see a red kite over Swindon.