THE first red kite chicks to hatch for 200 years in Northern Ireland took to the skies yesterday following a spectacular release.
Red kites, which had been extinct in the province, were reintroduced in July 2008, with more released in July 2009.
The final batch of three chicks, the first to hatch in Northern Ireland, were released yesterday in a secret south Down location.
Anne-Marie McDevitt, conservation manager for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: “This has been the culmination of three years of work for everyone and so it was great to see. It was a beautiful day.
“However, things are just beginning for us as we need to have at least 50 breeding pairs to give us a sustainable population.
“We can’t just leave the birds as they are, we will continue to track them and their progress as the years pass”.
Of five birds released in earlier years, four chicks have now been hatched, with the total number of birds now standing at 80.
It is hoped that the three chicks released yesterday will now go on to breed and boost the population even further.
Ms McDevitt said of yesterday’s released chicks: “One of the chicks flew out straight away and did a lovely fly around but the other two hesitated a little more.
“When they all got up in the air they looked very natural.”
She said the RSPB had been involved in education initiatives in the area where the birds were released to inform about the importance of the red kite.
“We’ve been speaking to schools and local farmers, really to teach them a bit more about these glorious animals,” she said.
“Red kites are scavengers so they are of absolutely no danger to local livestock and it’s really important that people realise that.”
Ulster Unionist John McCallister, who was involved in the project, said: “It has been truly amazing seeing these birds of prey in the skies in south Down.”
Speaking at the release, agriculture minister Michelle Gildernew said the event was “another great step to enhancing local bi-diversity”.
“The red kite reintroduction programme is a good example of the public and voluntary sectors, alongside farmers, working together to protect the environment and our natural heritage,” she said.
“I am delighted that my department, through the Forest Service, has been able to support this initiative and I look forward to the sustainable future for the new red kite population here.”
The project was a joint initiative between the Welsh Kite Trust and the Golden Eagle Trust, Forest Service, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Down, Newry and Mourne and Banbridge councils, as well as volunteers and local farmers.
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