Red Kites in my garden

When the kites are having trouble finding enough food - if the ground is frozen or they're feeding their babies - I help them with a little supper. It took 5 years before they began to trust me, but still now they won't come down if there's a neighbour around.

[@elivean]

I live in Switzerland where there's a great growing population of Red Kites... I see them every day in groups, and it is beautiful. They fly really close to my house so I hear their screeches very often. When farmers leave some cheese leftovers outdoors I see them in groups of +50 individuals and I've recorded them from a very close distance. They're amazing

[@yellowlighthouse3057]

I could only dream of having an experience like that.

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Aww, yes, it takes a lot of time and patience. :-)

[@j.ksmith7432]

@@hedgehogcabin923 and utter selfishness

[@LewisZilla]

Have seen a dozen in one day here in Northamptonshire, my mum saw none when she was my age, an absolute joy to watch, have had some swoop very close to me

[@freakyscumbag]

I live in South Yorkshire and never seen or heard of a red kite until this spring,now we have 8 fly around on a daily basis above the golf course and never gave birds a second look until they arrived ,now I could sit there all day and watch em

[@ianhenson724]

Absolutely Magnificent.

[@tuco1]

Wonderful video. Thanks for sharing.

[@davetaylor5501]

Beautiful birds, what an experience having them come down like that while you're only a few feet away

[@peckie102]

This is one of the most magical videos. Thank you. And lucky you !

[@philliphopkins6903]

Absolutely Beautiful ❤

[@sprogvask]

This is fantastic. I live in Denmark - red kites were extinct here, but returned via Sweden. I have a summerhouse overlooking a fallow field, and one of them started visiting us regularly last summer. Incredibly beautiful to watch.

[@paulreynolds814]

Thank you so much for this! You're doing wonderful things.

[@tommosclassics8137]

They have spread the red kite up n down the country, Herts & Essex have quite a few now, beautiful to watch them circle & fly above for hours at a time. Think I’ll get some chicken for them 😗😃🤩

[@katiebland7985]

What a spectacular site - there seemed to be one that hadn’t quite got the hang of the rapid swoop and grab but I think he got there in the end!

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Yes, that was a baby they were teaching. 😊

[@janesmith9024]

For the first time after 25 years here (in relatively rural outer London) we had some this year. One came really close to the bad patio door to take the remains of my steak. It looked so big when on the ground. Another almost came down last week when a squirrel was dead on the lawn.

[@maroscz]

There is a booming population around Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic. Roost of about 20 younglings is roaming around an area with golf course, grass runway and ponds just north of the city. Yesterday I've photographed a yearling at our housing estate on east end, where an adult is often seen, and today i've seen two adults right in the city center.

[@sueadams4624]

So many of them , hardly a patch of sky where they are not present

[@yurigabrilovich2190]

Wonderful Nature never ceases to amaze

[@nick28476]

magic.

[@leticiabraun2909]

That is SO incredible to see, what a privilege to be in contact with such beautiful, majestic creatures !!

[@LEuington6]

Brilliant video, I’d be privileged to have amazing birds like them in my garden ❤️

[@korvkorv532]

Damn didn't expect them to swoop in so close; that's very cool. My grandmother will leave duck and chicken carcasses for red kites to grab in her garden (they're the symbol bird of Scania). They never get this close though. I had one follow me for a bit during a bike ride this summer which was awesome but that was nothing compared to this. Quite jealous.

[@jakebenjamin7639]

👍🏻

[@Phaqu2mate]

That's fantastic. Such beautiful birds.

[@SEObirder]

Would love to just be sitting in the corner of that garden with my camera taking photos.

[@j.ksmith7432]

Not for long

[@billymoulds2124]

Amazing,,,

[@TomMcClean]

This is amazing and funny too HC. They will be soon taking from your hand! Persistence and patience have brought huge rewards. The birds trust you now. Well done. Best wishes from the Belfast Castlereagh hills.

[@stuwitten391]

Wow!

[@nevmcc3884]

A red kite stole my lunch out of my hand while I was eating outside in Japan.

[@meapantz1983]

Cute

[@alanjackson2540]

This is amazing!

[@sm-eh4ix]

A64 / A1 interchange upto branham full of red kites. jct 16 on A1 prior to Peterborough full of red kites

[@alisoninwonderland8398]

Wow that’s epic

[@andreasderiss3654]

This a wonderfull videos

[@DrumToTheBassWoop]

To think their last refugee was in mid Wales, nearly extinct. Now become prevalent everywhere again. 😎

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Yes, although still vulnerable, their numbers are increasing - a great success story.

[@abbysphotography6898]

This is actually amazing 👏

[@baz_1239]

This is so cool

[@johnwilson3918]

You lucky so-and-so!

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Well I don't know about luck - 5 yrs patience and an awful lot of chicken wings is more like it. :-)

[@johnwilson3918]

@@hedgehogcabin923 Oh, I'm just jealous that you're in a place where the kites are situated :) I've seen plenty flying over the M40 when I drive up North. I've also watched a group of them being fed at a Hawk Conservancy Trust in Hampshire.

[@hedgehogcabin923]

@@johnwilson3918 :-) They are magnificent birds, and getting them flourishing again is a true British success story.

[@Jetjai]

Lovely🦅

[@peregrinepete]

Well done you big respect don’t worry about the haters carry on ❤

[@martinpettit7302]

Wow

[@mryrius]

While a nice thing, you should consider feeding them later in the day as they need to use their skills to hunt/scavenger during the most opportune moments of daylight. Also, this is extremely dangerous for them if there are obstacles like fencing nearby, and they could damage themselves.

[@nigelbenn4642]

Got a regular at my old man's house, pretty sure it's the same one each time, regular as clockwork between 12-3pm, not as tame as this though and we call him Houdini, he's gone as fast as he appears!

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Ah, perhap someone near your dad's puts out food then. They'll never be tame, but they have come to trust me, over the years.

[@nigelbenn4642]

@@hedgehogcabin923 Good point could well be.

[@imranshabbir3103]

Wow absolutely phenomenal I have common buzzards that fly over mine regularly but can't seem to attract them to my garden

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Buzzards rarely land in gardens - only doing so when they are desperately starving. But you would have to be VERY patient, and be prepared to waste an awful lot of food (well, not waste - as the foxes are very grateful for leftovers!) for an awfully long time. :-)

[@imranshabbir3103]

@@hedgehogcabin923 thanks for the reply, I have built a feeding table for them which is quite high and have been putting defrosted rats on there but haven't had much joy in regards to them feeding on them.

[@hedgehogcabin923]

@@imranshabbir3103 It takes a long time for them to come to trust you. :-)

[@robw7676]

I live on a farm and have buzzards and kites locally. The kites seem to prefer scavenging whilst the buzzards don't tend to scavenge, they hunt - the ones near me have taken out a load of pigeons, very handy! I have cats and throw their hunting kills out in the field, I've never seen a buzzard take one.

[@waxedlatexpanda8496]

Feeding the dogs

[@Venomator.]

Oh, my word! That is simply amazing and awe inspiring to view Pauly... 👀 ✅ 👏🏻 What is it you are placing out for them and is it a daily exercise... 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@hedgehogcabin923]

It's raw chicken wings. It's important they have the bones and skin, as meat alone isn't balanced nourishment. Just one each - not enough to fill , but just enough to make the difference between life and death. Yes, every day before dusk, so no one goes to bed hungry. :-)

[@Venomator.]

Hedgehog Cabin Wow, you are truly amazing! Such a dedicated friend to nature’s neighbours, thank you for all you do for them... 🙏🏼 💚 👏🏻

[@hedgehogcabin923]

@@Venomator. How kind of you to say, thank you.

[@alanhiggins6476]

Brilliant video :)

[@Radgiie]

Beautiful video. I bet your a god in the red kite social community

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Hehe! When I'm out walking the dog and they spot me, they swoop over me continually, doing the begging cry.

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Hehe! I'm mum! When they see me they do a begging cry - the same sound they make when in the nest and a parent comes with food. :-)

[@kuvceebxab1]

only if you guy dont kill my chooks....

[@hedgehogcabin923]

No, that's an urban myth. Those chicken wings I put out are the heaviest food they can carry. They'd struggle to gain height with a drumstick. They are scavengers, not hunters.

[@davidsouthern9710]

What are you feeding them? We have a red kite that keeps very close to the garden

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Raw chicken wings. Just one each - it makes the difference between life and death in some cases, especially when the ground is frozen or when they have babies.

[@GrantMorgan-rc1tt]

Hi, What food are you using, plz?

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Raw chicken wings

[@grahamfairhurst6069]

I was under impression you needed licence to do this .

[@kulh1962]

Wow where is this and what are you feeding them?

[@hedgehogcabin923]

It's in Hampshire and the food is raw chicken wings.

[@ricardomaldini6508]

Dear Hedgehog cabin, I have loads of red kites in my garden. I would like to leave them some food. Please advise.

[@hedgehogcabin923]

They can't manage more than a chicken wing, despite their size, as anything heavier will prevent them gaining height. The meat must be raw and put out at the end of the day, just to supplement the day's foraging. It takes a long time to earn their trust so you'll need patience!

[@j.ksmith7432]

Don’t, you’ll regret it

[@andyf8469]

What are you feeding them? It looks like chicken

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Yes it's raw chicken wings. A drumstick is a bit too heavy for them to carry.

[@jamiegrieve5875]

May I ask you where in the country this is please

[@hedgehogcabin923]

It's in north Hampshire

[@davidblyth5495]

A lesson here - we should leave some form of carrion for them to feed on

[@dominictaylor9525]

Surely it is not advisable to feed them, as it will cause them to rely on human handouts. This could mean them attacking picnics and BBQs

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Oh gosh, you know there’s almost as many myths and legends about Red Kites as there are about my specialist subject, hedgehogs. I’ve heard tales, sworn to be true, of Kites carrying off cats and small dogs, hares and ducks, when the reality is even a fully grown adult kite weighs only 1kg, and is so finely balanced they struggle to carry even a chicken drumstick. Unlike other birds of prey, kites aren’t hunters, they are scavengers, and have no powerful muscles or beak - they are fragile creatures, with everything about them lightweight and aerodynamic. Even when they come across a carcass, they need to wait for another bird with a strong bill (usually a corvid) to open the pelt. Their fragility makes them far more cautious than other birds, and even more wary of humans (and rightly so, having endured centuries of persecution). So the idea of them stealing from picnics and BBQs is about as likely as the bluetits you feed in garden coming indoors and taking your dinner off your plate. It took 5 years for the kites to trust me enough to feed from my garden. What I provide at suppertime is a fraction of what the birds need to eat each day, but is just enough to ensure that if they’ve had an unsuccessful day’s scavenging they won’t go to bed hungry. And as the majority of their diet is earthworms, when the ground is frozen, as it is now, that supper can mean the difference between life and death. So please don’t believe the sensationalism peddled and repeated by TV programmes and organisations - most of whom really should know better.

[@dominictaylor9525]

@@hedgehogcabin923 Thank you for explaining all that, that is a lot more informative than other websites I have read. I'm a university student in Reading see, there's hundreds here and have never come across them. Been a bit wary about picnics in the garden because of things I've read.

[@hedgehogcabin923]

@@dominictaylor9525 Unfortunately, misinformation is rife on the internet, and lazy TV programme researchers and media editors just copy and paste it, further perpetuating these harmful myths. Red Kites are a rare British success story, I'm glad you get to see and enjoy these magnificent animals.

[@mik3ymomo]

Check out this video to the end and see that learned behavior absolutely will,train them to snatch food from picnics/BBQ’s or snatch food right out of children’s hands. As much as folks want to defend their own actions in this video... there is otherwise proof to show that it’s not a myth. Have a watch. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3uYc6RtjrShebM

[@dominictaylor9525]

That is worrying

[@stuellis7425]

found this pieces of chicken i'm gona stick some on mums roof and garage there agile as fuck . i knew about them from woburn abbey they pinch chickens off lions

[@j.ksmith7432]

This is the most selfish, ignorant and downright irresponsible behaviour with regard to these birds imo. They’re responsible for lots of attacks on people eating outdoors and have caused all manner of nasty injuries, particularly to young children. This imo should be an offence liable to arrest.

[@hedgehogcabin923]

Oh dear. Sun reader, are you?

[@grahamwatts591]

Wow