3
The red kite is unmistakable! It is a
magnifi cent, big, beautiful bird of prey,
with a distinctively forked tail, russet
plumage, and a wingspan measuring
more than fi ve and a half feet. Their
agility and ability to stay in the air with
barely a beat of their wings led to their
Anglo-Saxon name Glead (meaning to
glide).
unique scheme, being a world ‘fi rst’ in
reintroducing red kites to a semi-urban
environment, less that three and a half
kilometres from MetroCentre and within
40 minutes drive of 1.2 million people.
Red kite, Wing Tag 74 (Jammy Dodger)
Northern Kites was a partnership project
Northern Kites was formed in spring
between the lead partners Natural
2004 to reintroduce and ultimately, re-
England and the RSPB, and Gateshead
establish the red kite as a breeding
Council, Northumbrian Water, the
bird in North East England. It was the
National Trust and the Forestry
seventh red kite reintroduction project
Commission, with additional funding
in Britain and the ‘joining’ link between
support from the Heritage Lottery Fund
the previously established English
and SITA Trust.
and Scottish populations. It was a
www.northernkites.org.uk
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