Red kite chicks born in Ireland for first time in over 200 years

Carefully hatched plan:New arrivals a major boost to biodiversity efforts

THE SUCCESSFUL hatching of the first red kite chicks to be born here in over two centuries has been hailed as a significant achievement in the programme to restore Irish biodiversity.

Five chicks have been confirmed in two nests in Co Wicklow, according to scientists with the Golden Eagle Trust Red Kite Project. The exact location of the nests is not being disclosed in order to minimise threats to the birds.

The red kite once flourished in Ireland but became extinct in the 18th century due to persecution, poisoning and woodland clearance. In 2007, a project began to reintroduce the bird and, so far, 81 red kites have been imported from Wales and released in Co Wicklow. A similar project is under way in Northern Ireland.

Most of the birds have survived, and some have migrated to counties as far away as Kerry and Leitrim.

The birds first bred in two nests last year but neither produced any young. This year, nine breeding attempts were discovered, and six of these still have females incubating eggs. Three others have failed. Three chicks have been seen in one nest and two in another.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who visited the project yesterday to view progress, described the hatching of the chicks as a milestone for the project and an excellent example of an Irish biodiversity project.

The aim of the project is to produce a self-sustaining population of red kites, according to the project manager Damien Clarke. “It is my hope that the red kite will, with time, once again be a common sight throughout Ireland. These Irish-bred chicks are the first sign of that becoming a reality.”

The red kite, so called because of its reddish-brown body and tail, has a wingspan of up to 1.8 metres. The bird nests in trees and often lines its nests with scraps of cloth and paper, a practice noted by Shakespeare. Their prey includes small mammals, crows, pigeons, insects and worms.

The bird survived in Wales, though at one point there were only two known breeding pairs there. Today, there are about 600 breeding pairs in Wales alone.

National Biodiversity Week, which began yesterday, is being marked by a number of events in national parks and other venues, including bat walks and dawn chorus meetings. More information is available on noticenature.ie.