Cheeky Red Kite

[Pausim]

Having a late lunch after arriving on site in the Chilterns when out of nowhere a red kite grabbed my club baguette. I was left with half a baguette and a slightly bruised hand. We put the remains of the baguette out for it and that was gone in less than a minute. I feed the birds at home but this was a new experience.

 

[cmcardle75]

Yes, there's loads of them round here. You can sometimes see three or four at the same time. They often swoop down for roadkill, too, and you get a good view.

 

[Robert Clark]

Feeding red kites causes them to become aggressive scroungers

 

[Janine]

Sort of awesome and scary at the same time!

Where my son lives in Wallingford, red kites fill the skies. I love watching them twist and turn.

I am sure that I saw a couple over the Hereford c&cc site where I was staying this week. I know they are venturing further into Shropshire so it is possible.

 

[Pausim]

Feeding red kites causes them to become aggressive scroungers

I wasn’t planning on feeding it, though perhaps I shouldn’t have left the remains of the baguette out. I think this one already has the aggressive scrounger habit without my help.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[cmcardle75]

I wasn’t planning on feeding it, though perhaps I shouldn’t have left the remains of the baguette out. I think this one already has the aggressive scrounger habit without my help.

We've never had one steal out of hands before, like a seagull would. I'm not sure I'd let any little kittens out to play unsupervised, though!

 

[funflair]

Big aren't they

 

[Sheddy]

They are of Spanish heritage, we lived in the area at the time and year on year watched them increase in number and spread out.

Red kites | Chilterns National Landscape

Possibly the most iconic bird of prey of the Chilterns, red kites are a marvel to see circling overhead in the Chiltern Hills.

www.chilternsaonb.org

 

[AdamH]

As Janine mentioned we get a lot of kites around here

 

[kevenh]

^^ A bit of a kettle there

The re-introduction of kites into the UK seems a complete success.
I remember hiking with mrskevenh near Froxfield (small village nr. Marlborough) 20 or more years ago and we saw a kite. It was rare enough then that we spent almost 30 min stood watching it.
Now we often get a 14 plus kite kettle over our own village and only give them passing glances.

edit: Kitten safety - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_kite#Food_and_feeding the Kite diet is predominately carrion (dead stuff) but that doesn't rule out a hungry kite taking an easy small animal, right?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[movan]

Having a late lunch after arriving on site in the Chilterns when out of nowhere a red kite grabbed my club baguette. I was left with half a baguette and a slightly bruised hand. We put the remains of the baguette out for it and that was gone in less than a minute. I feed the birds at home but this was a new experience.

Apologies for the funny, but it's the way you told it and I could imagine the shock on your face!!

 

[kevenh]

Sorry, one more kite anecdote from out local ones.
There was a bit of bird noise in our skies and I saw several smaller birds hassling a kite that must've been too close to their nests.
The kite was nonchalantly & lazily spinning & turning away. But had headed to another couple of kites so then the small birds quickly shot off

Hmm! Looks like I need to learn how to recount events. ^^^ that was much more interesting in real life than reading what I wrote makes it.

 

[Lenny HB]

Must have been taking lessons from the Herring Gulls, now they are a real menace.

 

[Chris]

Thank God Red kites and seagulls don't drink beer.

 

[AdamH]

Yes the Kettle was bubbling nicely. They appeared at the same time every day for a few weeks on mass. They have been known to pinch food off the BBQ!
See videos

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Pausim]

Apologies for the funny, but it's the way you told it and I could imagine the shock on your face!!

No need to apologise, I laughed too.

 

[old-mo]

Get loads of kites flying over Weymouth when they have the annual kite festival...

Red kites and all sorts of other colours...

 

[MattR]

I wasn’t planning on feeding it, though perhaps I shouldn’t have left the remains of the baguette out. I think this one already has the aggressive scrounger habit without my help.

They have a habit of getting very persistent with scrounging ... they have become a menace in some parts of the world where they harass picnickers

 

[SpeedyDux]

Cheeky sparrow enjoying Italian ice cream

 

[68c]

I wonder if so many raptors in one are has any affect on the the other wildlife? OK releasing a few and letting them breed but some release stations are feeding the birds so an unnaturally large number gather. Got to feel for our song birds and small mammals.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[mitzimad]

I wonder if so many raptors in one are has any affect on the the other wildlife? OK releasing a few and letting them breed but some release stations are feeding the birds so an unnaturally large number gather. Got to feel for our song birds and small mammals.

They are mostly carrion eaters they are very poor hunters to big and slow to catch most birds

 

[Otter Spotter]

I wonder if so many raptors in one are has any affect on the the other wildlife? OK releasing a few and letting them breed but some release stations are feeding the birds so an unnaturally large number gather. Got to feel for our song birds and small mammals.

Kites do not have the right shaped peak to kill live food, they can only eat carrion and in fact need something else to open up the bird or animal body.

 

[kevenh]

Kites do not have the right shaped peak to kill live food, they can only eat carrion and in fact need something else to open up the bird or animal body.

Predominantly carrion & mostly carrion from above posts are about right from checks on Kite eating habits. Like:

Feeding Habits
Red Kites are scavengers and prefer to eat dead animals, road kill. They have been seen to take smaller, softer animals such as mice, voles, rabbits, crows and pigeons but they are fairly weak hunters in comparison to say a buzzard. They also eat invertebrates such as beetles and earth worms, especially in Spring. They are also opportunists often attempting to steal from each other, particularly during breeding season.

Maybe they need to hear about their bill being only able to carrion

 

[SuperMike]

I think Red Kites are carrion eaters and do not kill prey.

 

[Otter Spotter]

Predominantly carrion & mostly carrion from above posts are about right from checks on Kite eating habits. Like:

Maybe they need to hear about their bill being only able to carrion

Alright, i meant that they are not equipped to rip live prey apart, bugs are a protein snack

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}