Red Kites - St Molaga

While, near the midway cliff, the slivered kite In many whistling circle wheels her flight ; -” An Evening Walk “by William Wordsworth 1787

Introduction • When you think of Red Kites you think of something like this ...

•Well your wrong !

This is a Red Kite

What is a bird of prey ? A bird of prey is a bird who eats; Other birds, Animals , fish or insects . Birds of prey include Hawks , Owls ,Eagles ,Falcons and the Red Kites

The Kite and all other birds of prey have sharp beaks and talons for catching, killing and eating prey .

Almost all bids of prey (Falcon , Hawks ,Kites etc. ) are active during the day they are diurnal . Other birds like the Owl, are nocturnal ,nocturnal birds of prey have excellent hearing.

HOW CAN THEY FLY ? • Well they’d have to be pretty light so we should have a look at what makes them tick. Bones; Their bones are hollow with a honeycombed interior . Organs ; They have powerful lungs and large hearts Muscles ; They have chest and flight muscles

Wingspan can tell you • how they hunt

• where they live

How they hunt

Flapping those wings takes a lot of energy so the birds with a smaller wingspan can flap all they want e.g. Robins can flap around the trees eating all of the berries because the have a smaller wing span . On the other hand, big birds ,birds with a lager wing span ,like the kite wouldn’t have the energy to flap such large wings for so long so they would glide instead, to catch their prey .

Where they live . Smaller birds with shorter wingspans tend to live in forests or wood lands, hawks have short wings and long tails for speed and easy movement . Where as the larger bird’s wingspan would , get caught in the trees . So the longer-winged birds of prey like the kite ,would live in the open .

Looking after Feathers

First which feather is which W ell each feather is used for something different on the breast their feathers are soft and Downey . (these are used to keep their chicks warm .) Contour feathers cover the body and smooth it .

The long flight feathers and the contour feathers give the Kite its unique shape. The long tail feathers of a Red Kite gives it great manoeuvrability and control while soaring .

Feathers have to be replaced after time (at least once a year) they shed the old ones and re-grow new ones . Geese and swans loose all their flight feathers at the same time so they cant fly until they grow back . Kites moult their feathers gradually .

All birds wash themselves , feathers get grubby over time . Birds of prey could have bits of blood and meat stuck to their feathers and they will need to clean them . They may use a stream or pond to wash in . Birds spend a lot of the time preening ,at the same time picking out lice or bugs .

Where ?can I see the Red Kite • Where ? In Europe • Where ? In Ireland • Where ? In my garden

•Where ? in Europe Red Kites live in most places in Europe ,but before they were reintroduced to Scotland, England and Ireland , Wales had the only surviving Red Kites. But now Kites can be seen in most places in Europe and even across the north African coast.

Europe

Earth

Where ? In Ireland Red kites live in the east of Ireland near farmlands so they can follow the tractors to see what bugs they turn up.

Where ? In my back yard If you leave food (bread, fruit etc.) for the smaller birds after awhile the Red kite will come to eat them.

(1) The female lays eggs She will lay up to four eggs at a time, they are white and are flecked with light brown . In 30-32 days time they will hatch . Incubating eggs

Eggs hatching The female keeps the chicks under her most of the time to keep them warm and dry . She tears up bits of meat and give them to her chick .

(2) The young chick The chick is ready to fly at 48-50 days old , but it stays with it’s parents for 2-4 more weeks . Chick Flying

In Autumn the young kites must leave to find a new home . it takes two years to mature enough to find a mate and build a nest.

(3)

• scavenging HUNTING The Red Kite can eat a variety of animals .it is mainly a scavenger , the kite’s beak isn’t strong and its feet are fairly small . By scavenging it can eat animals much larger than it would be able to catch and kill its self .But it can kill and catch a lot of prey by its self’s such as rabbits, rats, mice and sometimes other birds .

The Red Kite cannot digest some of the animal parts ( feather , fur , wool and insect cases .).The Red Kite make pellets out of these bits and then regurgitate them . If you study them you can find out what they eat .

FOOD 2007-2008 Winter

Rabbit and hare Rat Mice and shrews Pheasant Pigeon

Earthworms No crows

FOOD Rabbit and hare

Rat

Mice and Shrew

Pheasant

Pigeon

Crows

Summer

2007-2008

no Earthworms

ROOSTS

Many birds of prey are solitary or spend the season with their mate or family .These birds include falcons and eagles they will chase of other birds .Red Kites on the other hand are quite social ,especially when young .During the winter Kites gather large numbers in one area .At night they all join in huge groups and spend the night in a small group of trees together . It is thought that they roost to pass on information about how to get food .When a kite leaves the roost to feed the other kites watch or follow ,therefore roosting together means finding food easier .

Traditions and Beliefs In some parts of Ireland mostly in limerick ,in the sixteenth century . The people hung the eggs that the chickens hatched out of on the their house to stop the kites from taking them.

conclusion * Kites are a cool and I enjoyed learning/writing about them and I hope you did too *