Red Kites: To Feed or Not To Feed?

Should we feed red kites? Certainly, a red kite swooping down and snatching its food is breathtaking, and it’s not surprising that people leave food out for the birds to encourage this behaviour. The question is whether feeding kites is necessary or helpful to the birds.

There are two main arguments against feeding. Firstly, providing extra food may increase red kite densities and may slow down the rate at which they spread to new areas. Secondly, some non-natural food sources may be bad for the birds’ health.

The size and distribution of the red kite population is determined amongst other things, by food availability. There is no shortage of natural food for the kites in the Chilterns, particularly in the form of road kill. Left alone, the kite population will find a healthy balance based on the food available, spreading out to new areas as food becomes limiting.

The range of the kite population in the Chilterns is spreading slowly, but the birds are still confined to a relatively small area. By feeding the kites, we are providing more food in this core area than the birds would find naturally, and we may be contributing to the slower-than-expected rate of spread that is currently being observed.

In the wild, red kites scavenge on the bodies of dead animals. They feed on all parts of the carcass, including flesh, fat, bone, skin and the internal organs. In particular, calcium from bones and vitamin D from skin are essential for healthy bone development in red kite chicks.

If red kites don’t get a balanced diet, and are fed on processed foods, such as sausages, cooked meat, or lean meat with little bone or skin, they can end up with serious dietary deficiencies, including metabolic bone disease that can be fatal.

In the last two years, three red kites are known to have suffered from this problem, and as birds in the wild with bone deformities will often die, undetected, at an early age, this may be a problem that is far more widespread than previously realised.

The following guidelines, issued by the Chilterns Conservation Board and English Nature, are aimed at reducing the potential for further problems:

1. Consider carefully whether to feed the red kites in the first place. Kites are able to range over wide areas in order to locate natural food sources.
2. Do not use processed meats which have potentially harmful additives, e.g. salt and limit the feeding of butcher’s offcuts which may be excessively fatty with little or no digestible skin or bone.
3. Whole or chopped animal carcasses are suitable for feeding red kites. Road kills may be used, provided that sensible hygiene precautions are taken. If you do decide to feed, only put out small amounts and do not feed every day.
4. Be aware that the food you provide can attract crows, gulls or rats which may be unpopular with neighbours.

For more information, please contact:

Cathy Rose, Red Kites Officer, Chilterns Conservation Board, 01844 271 306, crose@chilternsaonb.org