Blogs

I've been below the radar a bit recently, like many of our adult kites who have gone off to moult and recoup after a busy summer season.  But like them also I'm now back and ready for winter!

In the last couple of weeks the kite roosts have come into their own again with up to 20 birds sharing a single tree overnight.  This has been a good way of making contact with birds we haven't seen for a while as well as checking up on some of this year's youngsters.  On Sunday evening I had great views of purple/pink 70 (Don) who was one of the young stars of the VSA Easter Anguston Farm CCTV over the summer.

Dee and Don are the only young birds from 2009 that have been named so far as the rest will be allocated to schools over the winter. In the mean time below is a list of the tag numbers and names of kites already named.  There are few gaps which are for birds that were unaccounted for when the birds were being named.  Some have reappeared and remained un-named!

Released in 2007:

• 01
• 02 - Annie Hope
• 03 - Oscar
• 04 - Deretik
• 05 - Advokite
• 06 - Sirius
• 07 - Phoenix
• 08 - Ellen
• 09 - Fairview
• 10 - Lottie
• 11 - Lucky Eleven
• 12 - Mithradites
• 13 - Treekid
• 14 - Red Dave
• 15
• 16 - Anguston
• 17
• 18 - Zac
• 19 - Millie
• 20 - Robbie
• 21 - Hansel
• 22 - Echt Happy Chappie
• 23 - Gretal
• 24 - Dunecht Dasher
• 25 - Joycey
• 26 - Rua
• 27 - Kingswells Bullet
• 28 - Stinky Pete
• 29 - Big Tam
• 30

Released in 2008:

• 31
• 32 - Vulcan
• 33 - Theodore
• 34 - Alber
• 35 - Ramdim Star
• 36
• 37 - Nicholas
• 38 - Tango
• 39 - Airo
• 40 - Blazer
• 41 - Northern Light
• 42
• 43
• 44 - Diamond
• 45 - Strawberry
• 46 - Queenie
• 47 - Muirfield Guardian
• 48 - Crombie Rocket
• 49 - Tiki
• 50 - Scarlett
• 51
• 52
• 53 - Swoopy
• 54
• 55 - Rudy
• 56 - Red Claze
• 57 - Ketchup of Cromar
• 58 - Red Flash
• 59 - Dusty
• 60 - Fyvie Flyer

Born in 2009:

• 70 - Don
• 71 - Dee

The last few days have really shown how diverse (and great) my job can be.  On Friday myself and some local members of the Raptor Study Group attached the remaining birds with radio transmitters and wingtags so they are ready for release.

Yesterday I had a lovely walk up to the cages in the sunshine for feeding.  Two of the already released birds were sitting on top of the cages and didn't hear me coming so I had some great views of them pondering their new found freedom. 

Today we released another cage of kites.  The brilliant blue sky was the perfect backdrop for the young red kite's first flight.

You can always tell when things are busy with the kites as I usually forget to blog! 

Over the last couple of weeks we've started to release birds which is always really satisfying.  Although I've seen nearly 70 young kite taste freedom for the first time I'm always a little nervous when the birds fly out of the cages.  So far they have all flown off strongly, so I don't think I've got anything to worry about.  Because of the wet weather we've delayed some of this week's releases, but I'm hoping that it'll stay dry and we can get a few more out before the end of the week.

The birds that have already been released are doing well and are staying around the cages mostly as they gradually find their wings.  Yesterday there were four birds swooping and soaring over nearby fields which was pretty amazing to watch as they were only released a week ago.

We've really enjoyed the fantastic suggestions that have come in to our competition to name our young red kites (wingtags 70 and 71).  The chicks themselves are still coming back occasionally to the nest.  Mum (25) was on the nest on Friday evening preening herself. 

Those of you who have been to the nest camera CCTV will have noticed the large amounts of wool on the nest.  Red kites are experts at nest decoration and this year the Aberdeenshire nests have contained a variety of weird and wonderful items.  We've had a lot of sheeps wool, foam from car seats, rags, bale-wrap and several kinds of gloves.  Elsewhere in the UK more exotic items have been found!

After reading on the RSPB blogs all about ospreys and white-tailed eagles taking their maiden flight I was beginning to get a little jealous. But our young kites have done us proud and flown the nest! With the CCTV signal working intermittently we have been able to see that the nest is empty with the chicks coming back to the nest in the evenings it seems.

Last night I fed the kites we have waiting in the release pens which is always quite soothing.  They had a feast of hares and rabbits, but most were still feasting on the remains of their grey squirrels from breakfast or sleeping on their perches. 

The last few weeks have been so so busy, so apologies for the lack of blogging! 

The CCTV chicks are growing so fast and will fledge anyday now.  Unfortunately the signal has gone down due to last nights storms, but I hope we can get it fixed soon.

 All of this years birds that are to be released have arrived now so we've also got a lot of hungry kites to feed.

 Busy days!

I walked into the CCTV room at Easter Anguston yesterday morning and was delighted to see a bird standing on the nest.  I moved closer to the screen and was amazed to see it was a chick not an adult! 

The 2 chicks are being left on their own a lot more now, with mum (wingtag 25) only coming in during the frequent rain showners.  During one particularly violent hail storm yesterday, she dutifully sat over them for nearly an hour.  She got soaked herself and with the chicks obviously moving around underneath her it musn't have been that comfy!

My name's Jenny Lennon and I'm a kite'aholic! All I've done for the last couple of weeks is watch the CCTV footage of our new red kite family.  Joycey (25) and Treekid (13) are doing a fantastic job and the chicks are suitable fat and well fed.  Their feathers are just starting to come through and they look like real kites.

Worried that the male (Treekid) only came in at weekends I camped out every lunchtime last week and rewarded with fantastic views of the whole family on the nest together.  Treekid is a bit smaller than Joycey but his head is a striking silver grey and he looks fantastic. 

I'm off now to have another sneaky peak at the video screen . . .

For the first time in almost 150 years, red kites are breeding again in Aberdeen. This is so exciting and a little unexpected at this stage of the project so we are all delighted!  the picture to the right is our two little stars which have grown so much since the picture was taken just 10 days ago.  To celebrate we have LIVE CCTV footage of our new chicks beamed to VSA Easter Anguston Farm (just outside Aberdeen) and recorded highlights in the centre of the city.  If you get a chance come and see our very new and special family.

Yesterday, though. it was back to the usual less glamorous part of the job - clearing out the cages! Several hours of disinfectant and brash cutting later the cages are as good as new for this year's chicks which will arrive soon to complete our reintroduction.

I'll try and keep you all posted on the progress of our red kite chicks as not everyone can make it down to see the footage.  My main worry is how I'm going to get any other work done as I could spend all day watching the CCTV!

Here are the fantastic names that local schools have thought of for our kites over the last couple of years:

• Kingswells Bullet
• Millie
• Dunecht Dasher
• Echt Happy Chappie
• Airo
• Vulcan
• Theodore
• Crombie Rocket
• Tiki
• Ramdim Star
• Queenie
• Red Flash
• Ketchup of Cromar
• Fyvie Flyer
• Muirfield Guardian
• Scarlett
• Swoopy
• Blazer
• Alber
• Dusty

Good luck if your school is still thinking of a name - I know it must be really hard to get something that fits just right!

This job certainly keeps you on your toes!  The lovely sunny weather that Aberdeenshire has been enjoying recently, is also going down well with the kites.  In the last couple of weeks kites have been turing up all over the place locally, from Finzean in the south to Ellon in the north and everywhere inbetween.  Everyday I see birds in new and unexpected places!  Most exciting of all for me, was one from my garden in one of Aberdeen's suburbs!

Another side of this job that continually amazes me is the great names that local school children keep coming up with for our kites!  The last few weeks have seen the christenings of Ketchup of Cromar, Blazer, Swoopy and many more!  If your school is still to name a kite we'll publish a list of new names shortly so you can get some ideas and we don't get any duplicates!

Apologies for the last few weeks which have contained no blogs. The pattern of early 2009 has been fairly consistent though, with a number of birds still in Central Scotland as well as lots on the outskirts of Aberdeen.

The snow in particular has made the kites a great photographic subject and I have really enjoyed receiving sightings from a lot of people with pictures attached.  If you have any pictures you'd like to send us, please do at aberdeenredkites@rspb.org.uk and we might be able to use them in our newsletter!

Last weekend was a great one for birdwatching.  On Saturday and Sunday I was lucky enough to have Waxwings feeding on berries near my house.  Waxwings are a real Aberdeen specialty, and we are very fortunate to see them pretty much annually.  Then it was off to look what is fast becoming a local specialty; the Aberdeen Red Kites!  We saw several foraging locally - including 03 (Oscar) who was making a real effort at chasing crows! 

I thought as we are nearing the year's end it would be a good time to give an update on some of the individual Aberdeen Red Kites that we have been following.

Treekid (13), Gretal (23) and Stinky Pete (28) are all down in Central Scotland with the local population there.

Rua (26) is still on the Galloway Kite Trail.

They've been recently joined by 34, 40, Tiki (49) and 60!

On Saturday at our red kite walks near Echt, we saw Red Dave (14), Millie (19), Kingswells Bullet (27) and Ramdim Star (35).

Oscar (03), 11, Echt Happy Chappie (22), Dunecht Dasher (24), Big Tam (29) and 30 are all regulars on the outskirts of Aberdeen, along with most of 2008's young birds, some of which have been named.

Theodore (33), Nicolas (37), Diamond (44) and others have taken up home near Banchory in Aberdeenshire.

I'm sure by the time we're in 2009 the Aberdeen Red Kite map will have completely changed yet again!

Best wishes to all the red kite watchers for a Happy Christmas.

With all of the excitement of this year new chicks, sometimes I think the original birds from last year can be a bit forgotten.  Today, though, I had great views of red kite 30, released in July 2007.  Somehow kite 30 has ended up without a name, and today our very own 'Jane Doe' flew up in front of my car as I was out radio-tracking on local back roads.  She landed in a neighboring field still with the half rabbit leg she had foraged.  I was able to easily read the wing tags with my binoculars and then had a quick opportunity to admire what a beautiful adult she has become.  The slick silver-grey head, forked red tail and newly moulted red trousers look awesome in the autumn sunshine - yet another time when I wished I had my camera with me!

I left her to enjoy her lunch though, while I headed off to find my own.

With the bright and sunny days that we had in early-September a lot of the newly released red kites left the area immediately around the release site and headed off for an explore.  The fun since then has been in trying to find them! 

Whilst down at the Scottish Red Kite Meeting this week though a couple found us!  At Argaty Red Kites in amongst the 25 or so red kites that waiting for feeding time were two Aberdeen birds.  We saw Stinky Pete (28) sitting in a dead tree and heard newly released 49 using the radio transceiver.  49 had also been seen at the weekend, feeding on worms in the fields.

I'm so pleased that our birds have found a great new place to hang out.  Argaty now has a warm visitor centre with very welcome hot chocolate!