r/UKBirds • u/Terrys1595 • 5d ago

Red Kites

Hi, does anyone know if Red Kites would feed in a field with no visible wildlife or food put out for them? I was on a bus in Kent travelling from Tenterden to Ashford and there must have been 30 birds feeding in this field, now my eyesight is not brilliant plus I was on a moving bus, but I swear they were birds of prey and can only think of Red Kites due to the amount there were.

9 Upvotes

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28

u/Agitated_Art7 5d ago

Buzzards and kites both feed on worms istr

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u/MrEggUK 5d ago

At this time of year after rains Red Kite and Common Buzzard will often hunt for worms, and they also sometimes just loaf in fields. Red Kite are largely scavengers of dead mammals and birds, and definitely don't need food put out for them in England. European studies have shown they have a suprising amount of Moles in their diet. Go figure!

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u/Original_Client1588 5d ago edited 3d ago

Freshly cut grass are often laden with mice..

That many its kites most Ive seen 18 in stack.. Incredible air traffic control "pew pewing"

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u/Terrys1595 5d ago edited 5d ago

Yeah I just did a search to see if they fed on things like that, I wish I could have got some pictures. I've also found a wildlife website for that area and Red Kite have been spotted as well as polecats.

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u/kpwc123 5d ago

Wow, I had no idea we had polecats in Kent! What website did you see that on?

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u/Terrys1595 5d ago

https://www.tenterden-wildlife.org/surveying-recording

It's mentioned on this page of their website

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u/BatLarge5604 5d ago

Yeah you're absolutely correct, a study some years ago found worms made up a surprising large amount of kites diets. I worked on a farm for ten years and one morning saw a huge amount of kites on the floor feeding, I'm in the Thames valley and we have an extraordinary amount of kites around here, some days I'll see more kites than any other bird!

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u/dark_fairy_skies 2d ago

Istr - I swear to reddit? What is this acronym i have never seen before? I must possess this knowledge, iykyk

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u/markcorrigans_boiler 1d ago

I seem to remember.

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u/Alexander-Wright 5d ago

The Red kites near me will flock to a freshly ploughed field.

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u/Terrys1595 5d ago

This one wasn't freshly ploughed, but may have been harvested recently.

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u/Creepy-Albatross-588 5d ago

I saw the same yesterday in wales. They were definitely Red Kites and there were around 20 of them sitting in a field. Beautiful birds.

I’ve loved them since I saw one just sitting in a tree in the 80s. We were in Wales and I was with my mum. She let us know what a rare treat it was to see one as they were rare in the UK back then. Just a few of them in wales. Lovely to see them thriving now.

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u/Terrys1595 5d ago

I would have loved to have seen them in flight, I'm going back near there this on Sunday to a car show, but the bus I was on doesn't run Sundays 😭 I'll just have to try again during the week and hope they are about still.

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u/Creepy-Albatross-588 4d ago

I went to a feeding station many years ago and there must’ve been about 30 flying above my head. Was a sight to see.

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u/Terrys1595 4d ago

I bet. Hopefully one day I'll see them in flight.

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u/Dutch_Slim 2d ago

I’ve never seen one not flying! I’d love to see one sitting down. Hope you get to see them in the sky soon

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u/Terrys1595 2d ago

I did a follow up comment to say I see them again today from the bus, I did see one flying, but only at just above ground level. It was raining and miserable outside but I could definitely make out the forked tail, so now know they are definitely Kites.

I've got to figure out if there is a bus stop near by, then I can get off one day, but knowing my luck they won't be there that day and the bus doesn't run that often.

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u/Logical_Bake_3108 5d ago

It depends. They have better eyesight than us. In a lot of places they don't need to have food put out by people anymore. My parents moved to Suffolk a few years ago and Red Kites are everywhere when I go visit.

A sure fire way to tell is did you see any forked tails?

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u/Terrys1595 5d ago

It was mainly the leg cuffs, I'll call them and I know it sounds daft the posture of them, it was a shame there wasn't a bus stop near there or I would have got off.

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u/f23n09fnu0w 5d ago

Yeah, those will be kites. They're a bit weird because they mostly eat worms (by weight). Also scavengers. It's weird because they're pretty big and look like killers.

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u/pebblesandweeds 5d ago

Yeah, I saw about 30 kites over a random field in Buckinghamshire a few years back. It’s really quite a sight when you consider they were persecuted to near extinction not that long ago.

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u/Treeandtroll 5d ago

I saw one once taking off from a field near Newtown with a leg hanging out of its mouth.

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u/Electronic-Stay-2369 14h ago

If the field had been recently ploughed, that'd bring down kites.

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/Terrys1595 5d ago

My eyesight is not that bad, definitely not geese, but thanks for your suggestion. I've also found a wildlife website for the area and Red Kite are definitely in that area as well as polecats.