As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday 2 April 2015

Hundreds of rare birds of prey return to Reading

ITV REPORT
1 April 2015 at 12:34pm


More than 300 rare red kites are 'commuting' into Reading, Berkshire every day for food.

Research by the University of Reading shows that almost one in 20 households in the town – the equivalent of more than 4,300 homes – regularly feed red kites.

Many of those are putting out pieces of meat, particularly chicken, in order to attract red kites into their gardens.

The birds of prey almost went extinct in Britain until a recent successful reintroduction in 1989.

Almost half of households in the UK leave food out for birds - but usually peanuts or seed - rather than meat.

Feeding the red kites meat is controversial. Some conservation groups claim that leaving out food for the birds makes them dependent on human hand-outs and the birds may end up stealing food from picnics and barbecues.

Red kites were once a common sight over medieval towns, where they were welcomed as they helped keep the streets free of rotting carcasses of dead animals. But following centuries of persecution, only one or two pairs survived in Wales by the 1930s.

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