![]() ![]() ‘Our results clearly support the social challenge hypothesis and, therefore, are in line with the idea that food shortage can drive changes in stress levels through an alteration of the nestlings’ social environment’, says Catitti. However, although kites are on the increase, they. Not only were the youngest getting more to eat but there was also potentially less rivalry with their siblings, creating more harmonious conditions and reducing their overall stress levels. The red kite, one of our most spectacular and graceful birds of prey, is making a welcome comeback thanks to an ongoing reintroduction programme. However, the youngest chicks in the nests, which are usually the most stressed because of having to compete with their older siblings for food, were more relaxed during the scientists’ first visit when the parents had access to extra food. The red kites of the Chilterns are a great example of what a successful conservation project can achieve. They’re now surviving and thriving and public support for these beautiful birds is strong. Once the female has laid her eggs, she will. Once they’ve prepared their nest, red kite females will lay a clutch of 1 4 eggs, usually laying one every 3 days or so. Their nesting season begins in March or April. In addition, as all of the chicks grew – food supplemented or not – their stress levels dropped. Between 19, kites from Spain were imported and released into the Chilterns by the RSPB and English Nature (now Natural England). Red kites have numerous nesting territories across the Uk and Europe, with each territory containing a handful of nest sites. ‘It strongly supports the idea that nestlings’ stress levels are lowered in optimal food conditions’, says Catitti. ‘Climbing red kite nests is a physical challenge rewarded by the privilege of entering their world, even if just for a few minutes’, says experienced ornithologist and tree climber van Bergen.Īfter analysing the signs of stress in the blood samples and feathers, it was clear to Catitti and colleagues that the chicks whose parents could access the feeding platforms did better and were less stressed than the chicks of parents that could not supplement their diets. During that time, Catitti with Valentijn van Bergen, Patrick Scherler and Stepanie Witczak from the Swiss Ornithological Institute and a dedicated team of field assistants kept track of 82 red kite youngsters, climbing 20–30 m to the nests to weigh and measure the chicks, as well as collecting neck feathers and a minute blood sample on the first visit (∼22 days after hatching) and larger body feathers when the chicks were older (∼40 days after hatching) – both of which carry evidence of the amount of stress each individual was experiencing. The species is therefore regarded as “Near Threatened”.‘It was challenging to find and monitor closely so many nests in a short time period’, says Catitti, who set up a total of 78 feeding platforms over a 3 year period in the region around the Swiss cities of Bern and Fribourg to provide nesting red kite parents with a dependable supply of chicken chicks to supplement their ravenous offspring's diets. In certain parts of Europe, the use of pesticides has also led to reducing its population. In addition to garbage and carrion, it feeds on insects, shellfish, molluscs, reptiles, small mammals – it’s not fussy! Prey that runs on land, is located by hovering then swooping down, gripping and killing it, while back in flight. It has therefore also colonised great urban areas where it finds its food in garbage areas.īecause of the increasingly strict sanitary regulations in Europe in regard to rubbish management, the Red Kite populations have dwindled, and we see fewer of them whirling in the skies. The Red Kite is an opportunist bird which has understood the advantages of living close to people. This feeding behaviour, although valued in the mid-15th century in England and Wales as they kept the streets free of carcasses and rotting food, has become. It needs trees for nesting and is therefore fond of open forests areas, not far from the grassy plains and wetlands where it finds its varied food. Its natural habitat is limited to Europe. ![]() Being the cousin of the Black Kite, this little raptor has a clearer, brown-russet-red plumage and white-grey striated plumage on its head. ![]()
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