This spring has been truely awful, whether you're a blue tit, lapwing, red kite or just a fieldworker trying to monitor any of these species, you will have got very wet! As a result here in the Aberdeen Red Kite team we are chasing our tails a bit as we don't want to check kite nests in the rain, sleet or snow. Up until recently it looked unlikely that we would have another kite family on our webcam, but recent good weather has helped us and I'm a bit more hopeful now. All I can say is watch this space and hopefully we'll have more news soon!
The good news is that if this good weather continues, the kites shouldn't have been too badly affected by the wet and cold spring we have had here in the north-east.
We've had mixed weather in the last few weeks and with the threat of snow still looming, my garden has decided its spring with the immerging daffodils and tulips. And so it seems have the kites. In the light sleet that greeted us last weekend, my local pair of kites were starting their nest refurbishment in readiness for laying their eggs. The generally mild weather (well compared the foot of snow we had this time last year!) is probably the cause of this slightly early activity. We're keeping our eyes peeled on all of our other pairs to look for similar activity, so I will keep you posted!
Our local red kites have been fairly active again in the new year, and the mild weather has allowed them to continue with one of their favourite food sources; worms! Many farmers are ploughing up stubble fields in preparation for spring crops and the local kites and buzzards (along with quite a few common gulls) take great delight in feasting on the uncovered worms. In the autumn and winter, invertebrates make up most of the diet for young kites (and buzzards too). Sometimes when I'm out watching the kites I feel like a fraud calling myself a raptor worker as it seems that red kites are just overgrown song thrushes!
It has been good though to catch up with so many of the 2011 chicks who are now completely independent and moving around Aberdeenshire and beyond. For the first time ever one of our Aebrdeen-born birds has been see on the Black Isle with other kites. It is a young female who was reared near Peterculter on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Hopefully she'll come back to Aberdeen safe and sound!
2011 has been an amazing year for the Aberdeen Red Kites and we all feel so lucky to be able to work with such a brilliant bird. Another record breaking year for breeding locally and nationally (for the whole story have a look here), and kites becoming a more common sight all over the north east of Scotland.
Recently though the birds have been moving a bit further afield and a couple of birds have been at Argaty Red Kites recently.
D5 is one of this years chicks from the first Angus nest for 150 years, with both parents coming from Aberdeen. This great photograph was taken by Ronnie Anderson (thankyou!) at Argaty a couple of weeks ago in the snow.
Hope everyone has a great Christmas and can't wait to see all the fab kite pictures taken with your photographic Christmas presents!
If you'd like to know more about the project with a more detailed update, then why not subscribe to our newsletter! Drop us a line at aberdeenredkites@rspb.org.uk.
After a fascinating few weeks its time to say goodbye to our webcam and three (not so) little stars. The chicks are now three months old and will soon be independent from their parents. They are spending less and less time on the nest - only feeding there occaisonally.
Its a quieter time for us now too. For a change of scene I'm working on Shetland for the next week, which I'm very excited about as have never been before!