The Red Kite

• In Welsh it is known by several names : Barcud or Boda, a buzzard or a hawk ; Boda coch, the red buzzard; Boda wennol, the swallow (tailed) buzzard.
• The Red Kite is a large bird of prey with a wing-span of 150cm (5 feet) often seen in the Elan Valley.
• They are about 60cm (2 feet) long and weigh 1 kilo (2.2 lbs).Unlike the Buzzard it has a forked, red tail.

• The difference between a Buzzard and a Red Kite (right)
• It is a rare bird with about 300 pairs in Wales.
• It used to be found over much of England and Scotland but was exterminated by gamekeepers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• The Red Kite was first mentioned as living in the Elan Valley in the 18th century, but has probably done so for thousands of years.
• Now the Elan Estate supports a healthy population and birds are seen everywhere - even over the Visitor Centre most days.
• Some nests of Red Kites are still robbed of their eggs and the most likely cause of death of an adult bird is by poisoning.
• It has now been reintroduced to parts of England and Scotland with young birds from Spain and Scandinavia.
• The Red Kite breeds only in Europe except for about 20 pairs in Morocco.
• Half the European population breeds in Germany (20,000 pairs) whilst 5,000 pairs nest in Spain and 2,500 in France.
• British Kites stay here all year whilst birds from central and northern Europe migrate to the Mediterranean area for the winter.
• Red Kites nest in trees usually at a height of 15 to 20 metres.
• The nest is about 1 metre across made of sticks and lined with wool or hair.
• 1 to 3 eggs are laid in March or April. They take about a month to hatch and the young can fly when they are seven weeks old.
• The oldest Red Kite known from ringing was 25 years old.
• Red Kites eat dead animals, young magpies and crows, rabbits, voles, beetles and worms.

• Reptiles
• Invertebrates
• Plantlife
• Woodlands
• Birds
• The Red Kite
• Mammals