Northern Kites - Update 22/10/07

News

For those of you who took part in the health questionnaire in summer of 2006, we have just had it confirmed - Red Kites Are Good for You!  Further statistical analysis has been done on the results of the survey by staff at the Psychology Department of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.  This analysis has shown that in all aspects except one, which demonstrated a strong trend but not a statistically significant result, volunteering with red kites and the Project made people feel better.  Proof positive that kites are good for you.  On Monday 20th August, at the request of the MP for Blaydon, David Anderson, the Project provided a red kite safari for the Right Honourable Nick Brown MP, Minister for the North East.  Nick spent three hours in the Project area, watching kites and learning about our work.  A photograph of him being shown kites by a mystery Northern Kites volunteer can be viewed in the office.  Between late May and the end of August, you helped the Project engage, face-to-face, with over 6300 people (including 827 families) at 21 different events across the region (this does not include the work you did at MetroCentre on 29th August!)

Development work on the Community Kite Clusters is now well advanced.  Large Northern Kites Information Panels are located in four of the five designated Community Hubs (Leam Lane Centre at Felling; the Tourist Information Centre at Barnard Castle, County Durham; the Northumberland National Park Visitor Centre at Ingram; and, in the core Project area, at the Thornley Woodlands Centre and the Gibside Stable Block).  To feed in to the hubs (which also feature copies of the Story so far book and other red kite literature), Kite Information Points (KIPs) have been established in over 60 locations across the region, from south west Durham to north Northumberland.  Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped with this work and those who identified the potential KIPs in the first place.

Bird News

(Colours and numbers refer to wing tag combinations.) Birds are now once again starting to use the large communal roost, in total (at least) twenty-seven birds were present at Sherburn Towers by the middle of October.  This included sightings of two 2007 juveniles, A2 and A5 (the latter was the bird that was reared in Northumberland), and our first confirmed Yorkshire kite, Orange/Green 1.  This bird had been observed on Fellside Road recently and, on 15th October, was watched feeding in a field at Rowlands Gill prior to going to roost.  In addition, the long-staying Dumfries and Galloway bred kite, Green/Green 4 was noted again, in Barlow Burn.  A number of apparently long-missing birds have been recently found in the lower Derwent valley including Pink/Orange 22 which has not been noted for well over a year.  In addition, it would appear, after months of not working, that Pink/Orange 54's transmitter is now working again!  A recent tot-up of birds indicated that there is in the region of forty kites in the lower Derwent valley/Gateshead area, with other birds in Teesdale, Yorkshire and reports in Northumberland.

Where to See Birds

Once again, birds are to be seen on a regular basis in all of their usual haunts: Gibside, Lockhaugh, Highfield, Barlow Fell, at the Black Horse pub at Barlow and along Fellside Road, between Whickham and Burnopfield.  Some of the best views of kites recently have come from around the farm track leading from Thornley Kennels down to Sherburn Towers Farm (note, this is not a public right of way, excepting the top section).  There have been up to ten kites noted here; foraging and feeding on recently seeded winter cereal fields.