Red Kites
Thursday, April 23rd 2020
Andrew Gillings, a Foxglove supporter, is a fan of Red Kites and has kindly shared some of his best photographs with us (they were all taken before the current restrictions) and not at Foxglove although over the years there has been the odd sighting of a Red Kite passing over the reserve.
This magnificently graceful bird of prey is unmistakable with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail. They are huge birds with a wingspan of nearly two metres, but a relatively small body weight of 2 – 3 Ibs. They were saved from national extinction by one of the world's longest-running protection programmes. They have now been successfully re-introduced to England and Scotland and it is estimated that there are 1,600 breeding pairs in the UK. Red kites are listed under Schedule 1 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act.
At one time confined to Wales as a result of persecution, a reintroduction scheme has brought red kites back to many parts of England and Scotland. Central Wales, central England - especially the Chilterns, central Scotland - at Argaty and along the Galloway Kite Trail are the best areas to find them. In England the reintroduced birds can be found in the Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire area, Northamptonshire, Yorkshire, Gateshead and Grizedale Forest in Cumbria. Foxglove is located halfway between the Gateshead and the Yorkshire release sites and so observations are likely.
These pictures were taken at Gigrin Farm Red Kite Feeding Centre in Wales and close to Harewood House in North Yorkshire.
Kites eat mainly carrion and worms, but they are opportunistic and will occasionally take small mammals too. Feeding stations such as the one at Gigrin with purpose built hides provide great opportunities for photography as the number of kites visiting the feeding station can vary from a 300 to 600 or more depending on the weather and the time of year.
Our sincere thanks to Andrew for allowing us to use his striking photographs.
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Undergrowth Newsletter
Undergrowth Newsletter Winter 2020/21 Issue 54

Find out what has been going on at the reserve during the lockdown!
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Recent Blog Posts
- Plenty To See
- No Snow, No Hail
- Tawny Owls and Grey Herons
- More Flowers
- Nature
- Moving Slowly Through Spring
- Nesting Time
- Winter Spring
- Warm Days
- Biscoff Cheesecake, Brownies and Bakewell Tarts!
- A Busy Day for Some
- Volunteers at Work
- Around the Reserve
- A Ringing Day
- Flowers at Last!
- More Spring Photos
- Moths!
- A Special Visit
- Spring Has Sprung!
- Reducing, Reusing and Recycling!
- Almost Spring
- Thank you!
- Ringing Resumes!
- Arrival of Spring
- Strong Support
- Back To Work!
- We Are Open!
- Update
- Temporary Closure
- Large, Little and In Between
- The Weather
- A Wild Worky Day!
- Malik and Corrie
- Forest School Fun
- Winter Work
- Preventing The Spread of Bird Flu
- Thank You and Congratulations!
- Job Jobbed!
- Hazel, a Hedge and more High Vis!
- Moths
- Many Happy Returns!
- Winter Scenes at Foxglove
- Sheer Dedication!
- Back to Work
- Happy New Year!
- All Kinds of Weather
- Last Volunteer Day 2021
- Pillwort
- Volunteers at Work
- Winter Work Continues
- Edward the Elf Returns!
- Sunshine and Blue Skies
- More Clearing Up
- December Winter Worky Day
- Dangerous Trees
- Tidying Up After Storm Arwen
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- Willow Weaving
- Considerate Contributions
- Storm Arwen
- Look Both Ways
- Never Work With Wildlife
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- Technicolour Nature!
- November Worky Day
- Woodland Work
- All About Fungi
- Look North
- Autumn Views at Foxglove
- Happy Halloween
- Bat Monitoring
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- Hazel Coppice
- Wildlife Activity Day
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- Fungi Walk
- Happy Holidays!
- Bakewells, Banana Cake and Brushcutting!
- A Busy ‘Typical’ Day?
- Wet and Wild!
- Autumn Bird Ringing
- Changing Seasons
- Moths
- Extra Help
- Redwing
- Lively Livestock!
- Meadow Management
- Half Term Plans
- Autumn Worky Day
- QAVS Award on Display
- The Beginnings of Autumn
- Weekly Round Up
- Busy Bees
- Views Around the Reserve
- Colours
- Army Welfare Service
- Ringing at the Crater
- Hints of Autumn
- Sightings Various
- Moths Butterflies and a ‘Dragon’
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Marie Lightbody responded on 24th Apr 2020 with...
Amazing pictures Andrew