Captive breeding and re-introduction of red kites to Hampshire, England

Summary

Between 2003 and 2005, the Hawk Conservancy Trust released 12 red kites (Milvus milvus) into northwest Hampshire, England, to establish a local breeding population in a region where the species had remained rare despite the UK's wider reintroduction program. The releases combined captive-bred juveniles, released using a hacking method with radio tags and supplementary feeding, and adult stock birds, including one rehabilitated wild kite, released from a soft-release aviary. Early mortality among the young kites was high: two died from powerline electrocution within three weeks and a third from suspected raptor-inflicted trauma, leaving only one surviving young bird. The rehabilitated adult, notable for its leucistic plumage, died ten days after release. The remaining adult kites fared much better, dispersing successfully with no observed fatalities and ranging up to 12.5 km from the release site. By 2008, released and wild-recruited kites were breeding in the area, with three known nest sites within 5 km of the original release point and daily sightings reported. The project judged the release a success despite the young-bird losses, crediting the combination of captive-bred and rehabilitated adult releases with establishing a self-sustaining local population, and concluded no further releases were needed.