Red Kites Return to Spain

Wings of Hope: A Conservation Alliance to Save the Red Kite

A red kite from Britain emerges from its temporary home within Spain's isolated western hills. The six-month-old bird of prey takes to the sky, embracing its first moment of true freedom. Silently, the bird circles high above the rugged scrubland, a master of the air currents. Within seconds, the raptor glides into a distant wooded valley, disappearing from sight but marking a new chapter in an extraordinary conservation story. This release represents the newest milestone in an international effort that has completed a remarkable journey. It connects two nations in a shared mission to protect one of Europe's most majestic raptors, turning a tale of near-extinction into a narrative of revival and hope for a species that almost vanished from the continent's skies.

A British Phoenix from Welsh Ashes

Close to forty years in the past, the sight of a red kite in England or Scotland was impossible. Relentless persecution and habitat loss had completely eradicated the species from these countries. Only a handful of breeding pairs survived, clinging to existence in the secluded valleys of central Wales. Genetic analysis later revealed this tiny remnant population could be traced back to a single female, a precarious genetic bottleneck that highlighted the species' vulnerability. By the 1980s, despite some local recovery efforts, the Welsh population was still too small and fragile to naturally recolonise its former territories. The red kite, once a common sight celebrated in medieval literature, had become one of the United Kingdom's most globally threatened species, a ghost haunting its ancestral skies.

The Chilterns Experiment Repays a Debt

Conservationists knew that decisive action was essential. During the concluding years of the 1980s and the start of the 1990s, a pioneering reintroduction programme began, which saw young red kites sourced from Sweden and Spain to be set free in the Chilterns. This area, spanning the border of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, was chosen for its suitable habitat. The initial releases were fraught with uncertainty. Dr Ian Evans of Natural England, who was a key figure in the project's beginnings, recounted the team's initial fears that the birds might not survive or would simply disperse. However, the project's fortunes turned in 1991 when the first chicks bred successfully in their natural habitat. This pivotal moment confirmed the viability of the reintroduction, providing the crucial impetus for creating further release sites across Scotland and England.

A Soaring UK Success Story

The Chilterns experiment proved to be a spectacular success. From those tentative first flights, the red kite population has flourished, expanding far beyond the initial release sites. Today, the species flourishes throughout the United Kingdom, with current estimates suggesting a robust population of over 6,000 breeding pairs. This remarkable recovery means the UK is now home to approximately fifteen percent of the global red kite count. These magnificent birds, once confined to a few remote Welsh valleys, are now a daily sight for millions of people, particularly along the M40 motorway corridor where they often scavenge for food. The triumphant comeback is widely regarded as a premier species conservation achievement in British history, a testament to dedicated, long-term effort.

An Echo of Extinction in Spain

While red kites reclaimed the skies over Britain, their Spanish cousins faced a deepening crisis. The very country that had provided birds to help the UK's recovery was now witnessing its own populations plummet towards local extinction. In the southwestern region of Extremadura, a former stronghold for the species, the situation became critical. The area now supports a count of below fifty reproductive couples, a tiny fraction of its historical numbers. This dramatic decline mirrored a worrying trend across the Iberian Peninsula, where the breeding population has suffered a severe contraction over the past few decades. The bird's struggle in Spain serves as a stark reminder of the persistent threats that can undermine even once-stable wildlife populations.

A Man-Made Crisis of Poison

The primary factor driving the red kite's decline in Spain is illegal poisoning. Raptors are highly susceptible to poisoned baits, which are often left illicitly to target predators of livestock or game animals like foxes and crows. As natural scavengers, red kites often become the accidental victims. Research has shown that banned but highly toxic pesticides such as carbofuran and aldicarb are still widely used for this purpose. This threat is not confined to Spain; it represents a significant problem across Europe. Data from the expansive Life EuroKite project, which tracks thousands of birds, confirms that poisoning is a leading cause of death. These deliberate criminal acts represent the single greatest human-induced risk to the survival of these magnificent raptors.

The Unseen Danger of Power Lines

Beyond the insidious threat of poison, red kites in Spain face another significant peril from human infrastructure: electrocution. Many of the region's electricity pylons and power cables were constructed without accounting for the well-being of large birds. When a raptor with a wide wingspan, like a red kite, attempts to land or take off from a pylon, it can simultaneously touch two wires, resulting in immediate and fatal electric shock. This danger is particularly acute for young, inexperienced birds during their first few months of flight. In response to this threat, significant efforts are now underway to modify many thousands of kilometres of electricity lines, retrofitting them with insulating materials and bird-friendly designs to mitigate the risk and make the skies safer for these soaring raptors.

Image  Credit - by Ken Billington, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Predator's Shadowy Threat

While human activities pose the most severe long-term danger, natural predation also places immense pressure on the fragile red kite population in Spain. The eagle owl, one of Europe's largest and most powerful nocturnal predators, is a formidable hunter of red kites, especially targeting vulnerable chicks and fledglings. In one particularly devastating year for the reintroduction project, these powerful owls caused the deaths of fifty percent of the newly liberated young kites. This high rate of natural mortality, compounded by the numerous man-made threats, creates a perilous environment for the young birds. The conservation team has had to adapt its strategies, carefully considering the timing and location of releases to give the juvenile kites the best possible chance of avoiding this formidable natural adversary.

An Alliance for Translocation

In a remarkable reversal of fortune, a new conservation alliance was forged to help the struggling Spanish population. Building on the success of the UK reintroduction, juvenile red kites originating in Britain are now being transported to southwestern Spain. This four-year project aims to revitalise the local population, pulling it away from the edge. During the year 2022, conservation specialists received permission from Natural England through special licences to gather young red kites, primarily from nests in Northamptonshire where the population is robust. This translocation represents a poignant closing of the circle; the descendants of Spanish birds that saved the UK population are now returning to their ancestral homeland to aid their own kind, a powerful symbol of international conservation collaboration.

Operation Red Kite Takes Flight

The logistics of moving these precious birds are complex and meticulously planned. The collection has so far included more than 120 young birds, with around 30 exported to Spain each year. After being carefully selected from their nests, the young raptors are first transported by air towards Madrid. From the Spanish capital, they embark on a 385-kilometre journey southward to a dedicated wildlife hospital in Villafranca de los Barros. The facility is managed by the organisation Accion por el Mundo Salvaje (AMUS), a Spanish conservation body at the forefront of the effort. Here, a small, dedicated team works tirelessly to prepare the birds for their new life, ensuring each one is healthy, strong, and ready for the challenges that await them in their natural habitat.

Science and Survival in Extremadura

Upon arrival at the AMUS wildlife hospital, each chick undergoes a thorough assessment. Under the expert guidance of Alfonso Godino, the project's manager and an ornithologist, the team weighs, measures, and tags every bird. Each juvenile is then equipped with a lightweight GPS backpack. This modern technology is crucial, allowing researchers to track the birds' movements with incredible precision after their release. The data gathered provides invaluable insights into their survival, dispersal patterns, and behaviour, helping the team understand how the birds adapt to their new environment. The process is handled with care to minimise stress. Mr Godino explains that the birds frequently feign death if they perceive a threat, a natural defence mechanism that makes them appear lifeless during handling.

A Gentle Discomfort for a Greater Good

The process of fitting the GPS trackers and tags inevitably raises questions about the birds' welfare. Alfonso Godino reassures that the procedure causes only minor discomfort, drawing a comparison to a person having their ears pierced. He notes that the young raptors quickly acclimate to the bulky tags and backpacks, which are designed to be as unobtrusive as possible while still allowing for clear observation by researchers on the ground. This careful monitoring is essential for the project's success. It not only helps researchers protect individual birds but also informs future conservation strategies, ensuring that each subsequent release has a greater chance of success. The temporary inconvenience for the birds provides the long-term data needed to secure the future of their species.

Acclimatising to a New Home

After their initial processing at the wildlife hospital, the young red kites are not immediately released. They are first moved to specially constructed holding aviaries located in a remote area close to the frontier with Portugal. Here, they spend a crucial two-week period becoming accustomed to their fresh environment. This step is vital for their survival. It allows the birds to adjust to the local climate, sights, and sounds of the Spanish countryside in a safe and controlled setting. This period of adjustment helps reduce the shock of release and increases their chances of thriving once they are set free. It is a critical buffer, preparing them for the immense challenge of navigating the wild landscape of Extremadura on their own.

The Scent of Hope and a Patient Wait

The location for the release is serene and secluded, carefully selected to offer the best possible start for the young birds. A strong, pungent smell of decaying flesh fills the air, emanating from a sheep's remains deliberately placed nearby. This offering serves as a powerful lure, designed to entice the newly freed red kites, as well as other local raptors, to feed in a safe and monitored area. When the aviary gate is finally opened, the scene is not one of a dramatic, sudden exodus. Instead, aside from some minor rustling, the birds remain inside. They take several hours, seeming to gather their nerve, before individually forsaking the security of the enclosure and taking flight.

A Bittersweet and Anxious Freedom

For the conservationists who have nurtured the birds, the moment of release is filled with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Alfonso Godino describes it as the thrilling point where the juveniles begin their true education in a natural setting, learning to find food, avoid danger, and engage with different wildlife. The GPS trackers allow his team to follow their progress closely. However, for Sofia Marrero, a field technician with AMUS, it is an emotionally complex time. She acknowledges the harsh reality that raptors face a very high mortality rate in their initial years of existence. The knowledge that some of the birds they have cared for may not reach maturity makes the moment of their release profoundly bittersweet.

The Harsh Realities of the Wild

The concerns of the field technicians are well-founded. Surviving in a natural environment is a brutal challenge, and sadly, just around one-fourth of the red kites freed over the course of the initiative have managed to survive. The most significant dangers arise from natural factors and threats from predators, which account for a significant number of losses among the inexperienced young birds. The high mortality rate underscores the immense difficulties of reintroduction programmes, even with meticulous planning and dedicated care. Every bird that survives represents a small but significant victory in the larger battle to re-establish a self-sustaining population. The project’s success is not measured only in numbers released, but in the resilience of those that endure against the odds.

A European Endeavour for Survival

The Anglo-Spanish translocation belongs to a significantly larger, continent-wide initiative. The Life EuroKite project unites 19 organisations across 21 European countries in a concerted effort to safeguard the red kite. A core objective is to identify and mitigate the key causes of mortality across the species' entire range. Between 2020 and 2024, the project attached GPS devices and tags to thousands of red kites. The data collected provides a stark picture of the dangers they face. Up to the month of September in 2024, of the tagged birds that had died, a significant number had died due to natural factors, but hundreds more were victims of poisoning and illegal shooting, highlighting the pervasive threat from human persecution.

Confronting a Criminal Undercurrent

Experts involved in the Life EuroKite project believe the documented instances of unlawful persecution show only a fraction of the full extent. Many criminal acts go undetected in remote rural areas. In the United Kingdom, where red kites have recovered so successfully, the threat has not disappeared entirely. The RSPB works closely with its European partners to share expertise on conducting investigations into poisoning incidents. A recent report from the charity revealed the shocking scale of the problem, documenting that no fewer than 1,344 raptors were unlawfully killed within the UK during the period from 2009 to 2023. This ongoing criminal activity remains a significant obstacle to the full recovery of raptor populations, even in areas considered conservation success stories.

A Continuing Battle for the Skies

The red kite's journey, from near-disappearance in Britain to a symbol of hope for its Spanish relatives, is a powerful story of conservation's potential. It demonstrates how dedicated, collaborative action can reverse decades of decline. However, the high mortality rates among the released birds in Spain and the enduring danger from unlawful persecution across Europe serve as a sober reminder that the battle is far from over. The future of these magnificent raptors depends on continued vigilance, robust law enforcement to tackle wildlife crime, and the ongoing work of dedicated conservationists working in the field. The sight of a red kite soaring freely remains a privilege earned through tireless effort, a symbol of a wildness that must be perpetually defended.