One of these pairs lost a well grown chick in early June, possibly due to bad weather. Another pair lost a 4 week old chick that died from secondary poisoning after feeding on the carcass of a woodpigeon that had been feeding on treated maize seed containing bendiocarb.

Most disappointing of all a third pair lost three chicks on the point of fledging which two weeks earlier had been fitted with wing-tags. Post mortems are currently being carried out to see why these chicks died but it is possible that these deaths were weather related too. At one of the successful sites the female white/green 1 was found fatally wounded on a local airfield having been struck by a light aircraft on take off (the first time this has been reported as a cause of death in Red Kites)*. Fortunately, the two chicks were very close to fledging at this stage and the food brought in by the male was sufficient to ensure that they both survived.

* There is a precedent from Wales. On 15th March 1985 a Hawk training jet from RAF Valley on Anglesey had its canopy smashed when it hit a Red Kite over Cwmystwyth. The pilot had to make an emergency landing near Harlech but was otherwise unharmed. There had been a lot of low flying over mid Wales about this time and there had been some concern expressed that it may have been disturbing the kites. The incident came to light when a local farmer reported to Peter Davis that he had found lots of kite feathers and some 1 inch thick bits of perspex in his field. On further investigation it turned out that the RAF had realised it was a kite that had been killed and thought it might be better not to say anything!

As part of a PhD study based at Anglia Polytechnic University in Cambridge, long-life radio transmitters were fitted to 8 young kites while they were still in the nest. Two of the birds unfortunately died before fledging, and another two were subsequently killed by an illegal poison bait. Another dispersed away from the Midlands leaving only three in the breeding area at the time of writing. The radios will allow the movements of these birds to be monitored for about the next three years before the batteries begin to run down.

Radio-tracking of birds tagged in previous years has already shown that some young kites disperse away from the Midlands, either in their first autumn or during the following spring. Some join kites in other areas, particularly the populations in mid-Wales and the Chilterns although many subsequently return to the Midlands when ready to breed for the first time.
As usual young kites reared this year were fitted with coloured plastic wing-tags while still in the nest. Birds were given a white tag on the left wing and a bright pink tag on the right wing.

The biggest threat to reintroduced kites comes from illegal persecution, particularly the indiscriminate use of poison baits in the open countryside. A recent incident in this area, the worst since the start of the re-introduction programme in England, resulted in the deaths of at least three of this year's young. Poison baits of this kind are not only a threat to kites but to many other species of wildlife and also to domestic animals such as cats and dogs. A local businessman was so incensed that he has offered a £2,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. The Police are continuing with their investigations and so we are unable to give any further details at this stage.