Red Kites usually lay 2-3 eggs. They nest in trees, sometimes building on top of old crows’ nests or squirrel dreys. Nests are often untidy structures, kites having a habit of decorating them with a wide variety of materials. The first successful Yorkshire nest in 2000 had a teddy-bear’s head and a tea-towel in it. A nest which was visited in 2006 had a St George’s flag in it, this being discovered less than an hour before the kick-off in the World Cup match between England and Paraguay! A downside to this collecting habit is the amount of plastic and polythene which they incorporate into the nest, this sometimes forming an impervious layer which can result in water logging and the loss of eggs or young.

The Yorkshire project is unique, having had successful breeding in its first year. The female of the pair was an older, rehabilitated, bird released in September 1999. Despite problems along the way – including a significant imbalance of sexes amongst the released birds (roughly twice as many males as females); losses of birds due to poisoning; protracted release period through shortfall of young birds and the loss of a year through Foot and Mouth Disease – this exceptional early breeding trend continued. By the 2008 breeding season, no fewer than 67 breeding pairs had been located, 58 pairs being successful in raising at least 115 young. This brought the total young known to have been raised in Yorkshire nests to at least 430.

Although the nucleus of the breeding pairs is close to the release area, recent years have seen encouraging signs of an increasing geographical spread. A totally unexpected development has been the breakaway population which has formed in the southern section of the Yorkshire Wolds. Two birds from the initial 1999 release - one of which is probably the bird on the front page of this website - became the first breeding pair in that area, since when numbers have been boosted by young which they raised, further birds moving in from Harewood and arrivals from release areas in North East England and the East Midlands. Seven pairs raised at least 12 young in that area in 2008.