Call To Feed Red Kites (from Bucks Free Press on March 14th 2008) *

"A conservation enthusiast wants to encourage people to feed red kites and
help Bucks' birds of prey prosper. There had been fears that the feeding of
kites has caused the birds to contract disease in recent years. But Peter
Edwards, an ecologist and member of the South of England Kite Group, wants
to set the record straight. He said: "We want to let people know that it's
okay to feed red kites. We had a scientific meeting and there wasn't a lot
of justification for the adverse publicity. "The idea that we were killing
the kites with kindness was a bit of a nonsense considering how well they
were doing." 

Mr Edwards, of The Brackens, High Wycombe, explained that there was a poor breeding of the birds last year, and this had coincided with the ideas about the dangers of feeding the red kites. But the group wants to see the birds' numbers rise again this year, and thinks that people in the area
can only help the birds' numbers grow by responsible feeding of the kites.
He also dismissed fears that the birds had been stopped from populating
other areas because the supply of food in the Chilterns was keeping them
here. He said: "People thought they weren't dispersing from the area. But
they were getting to a maximum density in the area because they like it, and
then dispersing." Experts also believe that worries that the birds suffer
from metabolic bone disease calcium deficiency because of irresponsible
feeders were unfounded. 

A meeting of members of Natural England, the RSPB, The London Zoological Society, The Welsh Kite Trust, the South of England Kite Group and The Chiltern Conservation Board agreed that feeding the kites was beneficial. He said: "The theoretical possibility was not actually happening. We're just trying to set the record straight." "It's fantastic to see these birds. We have just got a pair nested just 30 metres from our house at the back of the Rye. "Feeding them on scraps of meat is fine, but do not give them cooked meat. Meat with skin and bone is best - it's their natural road kill diet. "They have actually got quite disgusting habits, but they look magnificent. " Mr Edwards recommended that people interested in feeding the kites should check www.welshkitetrust. org for full guidelines and information. "