Red Kite Wing Tags Explained
Red kite wing tags give us a great deal of useful information..
In 1998 a national coding scheme was introduced which allows red kites to be identified at various levels depending on how well the birds can be viewed.
The colour of the tag on the left wing of the bird denotes the area in which they were marked/released and the colour on the right wing denotes the year it was fledged/ringed.
The kite shown here has a Black tag so can be identified as a Welsh Kite, and the red coloured bar gives us the year it was tagged - 2003.
Because on a perched bird only one side is usually visible at any one time a small bar of colour at the bottom of the tag informs the observer of the colour of the tag on the opposite wing.
| These tag colours give us the regions | These tag colours give us the year |
|||
| Left Wing Tag | Right Wing Tag | |||
| Region of hatching |
Colour
|
Year of Hatching | Colour | |
| Wales | Black | 1998 | Lime Green | |
| Southern England | Yellow | 1999 | Black | |
| Black Isle, North Scotland | Bue | 2000 | Pink | |
| East Midlands (Rutland) | White | 2001 | Blue | |
| Yorkshire | Orange | 2002 | White | |
| Central Scotland | Red | 2003 | Red | |
| Dumfries & Galloway | Green | 2004 | Yellow | |
| Northumberland | Pink | 2005 | Orange | |
| 2006 | Green | |||
| 2007 | Purple | |||
| 2008 | Black | |||
| 2009 | Pink | |||
Data provided by the Welsh Kite Trust
Latest sightings of wing tagged kites will be posted on the news page