Photo Credit @chris.enticott Red kite resting in a tree ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Red kites are magnificent and graceful birds of prey that can be seen soaring and circling over woodlands and open areas. Their distinctive shape in flight and their call, a thin piping sound, make them easy to identify. Once numerous, they were driven to extinction in England by human persecution and by the end of the nineteenth century, only a small population survived in Wales. Thankfully the red kite has made a tremendous comeback thanks to reintroduction programmes and legal protection. Between 1989 and 1993 more than ninety red kites were imported from Spain and released into the Chiltern Hills by the RSPB and English Nature (now Natural England). Red kites started breeding in the Chilterns in 1992 and now there are hundreds of breeding pairs in the area. Such has been their success that chicks have been taken from the Chilterns and have been successfully reintroduced to several other areas of the UK. They can now be seen in Wales, Yorkshire and the East Midlands as well as in the Chilterns. The red kite reintroduction has proved to be one of the greatest conservation success stories of the 20th century. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #redkite #redkites #milvus #milvusmilvus #birdofprey #birdsofprey #raptors #only_raptors #eliteraptors #bird #birds #wildbird #birdportrait #igbirds #birdsofinstagram #birdstagram #instabird #instabirds #birdphotography #birdphoto #birdshots #bestbirdshots #bird_captures #birding #birdwatching #birdnerd #ukbirds #britishbirds #thebritishwildlife #chilterns https://proshopperz.com

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