A Final Thought
Within the first three years of the Project, 94 kites in total were released in Gateshead’s
lower Derwent valley. The first birds bred successfully in 2006, and raised the first
‘wild’ kite to be born in the North East for more than 170 years. By 2009, around 30
pairs of red kites were breeding in North East England, many of these in the heart
of the lower Derwent valley. Previously almost persecuted to extinction in Britain, it
was clear that red kites would never return to their previous, extreme rarity status.
This is a testament to changing attitudes amongst land managers, the excellent
work of the many agencies, organisations, businesses and individuals that have
helped the red kites glide again; not to mention the high esteem in which the North
East’s public at large now holds the species. This celebratory booklet tells their
story.
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