In the Czech Republic we can meet two species of kites - red kite and black kite. In the Příbram and Sedlčany regions, however, only red kites nest almost exclusively. Until the 1970s, this species practically did not nest in the Czech Republic, then it gradually spread to us from the west. The red kite is a buzzard-sized bird of prey conspicuous by its forked tail, pale head and reddish-brown plumage. Its nest is up to 1 m in diameter, it is made up of branches and lined with fine plants and moss, and kites like to put old rags, papers and plastic bags, bones and other rubbish in the nest, in which they have found a liking. The kite builds its nest high in the treetops on coniferous and deciduous trees. Like the white-tailed eagle, he likes carrion, which makes up a large part of his diet. If you want to ring young kites on nests, it is not enough to just be a ringer, you must also have a special permit from the Ringing Station and an exception from the regional authority, because it is a specially protected species. You also need an experienced tree climber, because nests are often located on thin trees (especially in the Příbram region on pine trees) and quite high. Young kites behave very calmly when ringing and rarely attack.
In the Czech Republic there is a project of color marking of kites, our birds are circled with black reading rings with yellow markings, their placement on the leg reveals whether they are young from the Czech Republic, they have a black ring on the left leg, or Moravia, when the black ring is placed on the right feet. In 2018, Anitra wildlife tracking launched a GPS-GSM red kite telemetry project in western Bohemia, which is part of a European project to combat bird crime. The results of the project are to contribute not only to the monitoring of illegal activities committed on birds of prey, the causes of birds of prey deaths, but also to the monitoring of kite movements in the landscape, migration routes and wintering grounds. As with other birds of prey, poisoning, bullets and burns on power lines are threatening factors for the kite.
This year, Pepík managed to circle a total of 8 red kite cubs.
@BIRDS
16 сен 2021
