Visitor centre protects red kites in the Scottish Highlands

Red kites were once persecuted and dwindling in numbers. Once, these birds were so rare they were only found in Central Wales. Thanks to conservation efforts, red kites are seen across many parts of the UK. Scotland was a once former home of red kites, where the species has recently recovered in numbers. Argaty Red Kites in the District of Stirling is a visitor and conservation centre helping to revive numbers in the region.

Below, right: Red Kite carrying its food away.

Below: Red Kite displaying its beautiful plumage.

Both images: © Lynn Bowser, Argaty Red Kites. All rights reserved.

Q & A - Tom Bowser (Argaty Red Kites)

How did red kites capture your interest?

Red kites were reintroduced to central Scotland between 1996 and 2001 by the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage. Very soon after the first birds were released they began to roost on our farm, Argaty.

Red kites are truly beautiful birds and my parents instantly fell in love with them. When birdwatchers began flocking to Argaty we started providing the kites with a daily supplementary feed, topping up what they find in the wild and keeping them from scavenging near busy roads, train tracks and shooting estates (all places where they might come to harm). My father built a hide and we began inviting people to come and watch the kites feed.

For my part, although kites were absent from central Scotland for the first 12 years of my life, I feel as though they were always here. I can’t imagine our skies without kites. These are fascinating birds and we’ve been lucky to live alongside them, feeding them daily, monitoring their nests and ringing their chicks for the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme. Each year we learn a little more about them and our interest in them grows.

Why is it important to conserve red kites in Scotland?

I think that it’s important to conserve kites in Scotland for a number of reasons. Firstly, in the Middle Ages kites were said to be Britain’s most common raptor. They were extirpated in Scotland and England due to human persecution – people wrongly believed that they were a threat to lambs and to adult game birds and persecuted them mercilessly. In fact, kites are largely scavengers, hunting only small prey, but people did not believe it and wiped them out.

“..kites are largely scavengers, hunting only small prey, but people did not believe it and wiped them out.. by reintroducing and preserving kites we are righting that historical wrong..”

By reintroducing and preserving kites we are righting that historical wrong, returning them to a landscape they ought never to have been removed from.

Human persecution remains the single biggest threat to kites and it is very important that we continue to highlight this. Kites are a vital part of the ecosystem and history shows that when any native animal is removed, the whole food chain suffers. With a biodiversity crisis on our hands, we must bring an end to the wildlife crime that continues in some parts of the British countryside.

Red kites are largely confined to Western Europe. Britain has 17% of the world population, and that number is rising. With kite populations falling in some European countries, it’s vital in the international context that we preserve a healthy population in Britain.

Why is central Scotland a suitable location for red kite conservation?

From old statistical accounts we know that kites were once plentiful in central Scotland. Kites like open countryside. They need some mature woodland for nesting and roosting in, but spend most of their time on the wing, soaring high on thermal currents, seeking out carrion. Central Scotland has just the right ratio of trees to open landscape and the kites thrive here. That is one of the reasons that this area was selected for the reintroduction in the first place.

The presence of buzzards in the area was also important. The RSPB took this as an indication that raptor persecution was no longer an issue here. (When choosing reintroduction sites they had to be sure that the kites wouldn’t be killed off by people who viewed them as a threat.) In the early years of the

“Human persecution remains the single biggest threat to kites..”

reintroduction, some kites were killed, sadly. We’ve lost several to poisoning and shooting over the years, particularly in intensive shooting areas, however in recent times, raptor killing in this area seems to have declined. This is thanks to the police, the RSPB and members of the Raptor Study Group, who have worked hard to tackle problem estates. Freed from this threat, this area is ideal for kites.

Please tell us about how Argaty Red Kites started and what the public can expect to see when visiting.

Argaty Red Kites is a partnership between us and the RSPB. Part of the RSPB’s action plan when reintroducing kites to Scotland and England was to provide viewing facilities so that people could enjoy these birds from a respectful and responsible distance.

The theory was that the best means of protecting kites was to allow people to see them and fall in love with them. That way, if kites were persecuted, the public outcry would be deafening.

“The theory was that the best means of protecting kites was to allow people to see them and fall in love with them..”

Above, right: ‘Bird watching box at Argaty’. Directly above: ‘View from bird watching box’.