The increase slowed down to 35 nesting pairs by 2002 (87 young reared) and showed no further increase until 2005 despite excellent productivity. It is now thought that increased raptor persecution on surrounding grouse-moors has resulted in very poor survival of dispersing young kites. Only 5-10% of young fledged are currently surviving to enter the breeding population when two or three years old as opposed to 50-75% prior to 1999. It would appear that the population in North Scotland is being maintained by the high survival rate of adults, which are resident.
Breeding in 2005
This year 39 nesting pairs were located, an increase of four pairs (11%) over the previous year. This is the first detected increase in the breeding population since 2002. However, there has been little change in the breeding range, which remains confined to the western half of the Black Isle and adjacent farmland in Easter Ross.
The figures for 2005 are that 73 known nesting sites were checked of which 42 were found occupied (two by single adults). Thirty-nine pairs laid full clutches and 36 pairs successfully fledged 85 young. The mean brood size per laying pair was a healthy 2.2. The three breeding failures all occurred during incubation. Unusually, all three involved experienced pairs and occurred when for reasons unknown, these pairs abandoned their traditional nests and occupied new ones built in 2005.
The 36 successful broods consisted of five broods of one young, 14 of two young, 16 of three and one of four. Sixty-four young were fitted with wing-tags and 15 of these had additional backpack radio transmitters fitted as part of an on-going study that started in 2004. Four young were collected for release in Dumfries & Galloway as part of their reintroduction scheme. A further 10 were collected for release at Balnagown Estate in Easter Ross as part of a short distance reintroduction experiment.
Balnagown release programme
Balnagown Estate lies 30 kilometres north of Inverness near Kildary, Easter Ross. It is owned by Mohammed al Fayed and managed by the estate factor Gordon Robertson. In a bid to increase the red kite population in North Scotland, which at the time had not increased for three years, a plan to reintroduce young birds to a new area but only a short distance from the existing established population on the Black Isle was approved by SNH early in 2005. Balnagown Estate was approached and ambitiously supported the idea by providing materials for the release cages and considerable manpower.
Single red kite chicks were taken from ten nests containing broods of three in mid June when aged five weeks. They were housed in two large outside aviaries, six birds in an existing aviary close to the estate castle, the remaining four birds in a purpose built aviary next to undisturbed woodland 500m away. They were fed daily by estate staff under the supervision of the RSPB Red Kite Officer with road-killed Pheasant and rifle shot Rabbit and Roe Deer. They were fitted with wing-tags and backpack radio tags and released at the end of July. A small food dump was created and maintained after the birds' release. The dispersal of these ten birds was monitored daily during the autumn. At the time of writing in early November, one birds remains in the release area, one has moved to the Black Isle and attending a communal kite roost at Kilmuir, six have dispersed in Easter Ross but remain with 10km of the release site and two have apparently left the area and are yet to be located.
