Just a little belated update on our beautiful Red Kite (the experts think she might be a girl after all by the way so she is legitimately Kitty to us!)…
After two weeks of care, rest and recuperation with the experts at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, we received a call to say that it was time to set Kitty free.
Although she had been clipped by a car, luckily for her, she was just in severe shock and no bones had been fractured or broken. They kept her in until she was well on the road to recovery, feeding her up to give her a good chance of adjusting back in the wild. Then they put her in a much bigger enclosure for a couple of days to make sure everything was working properly, before giving us a call to come and pick her up.
I kind of imagined someone a little more qualified would be coming with us to let her go, but in the end (and quite sweetly) it was just us (and Granny who was with us when we found her!).
We turned up before the Hawk Conservancy doors opened to the public, and watched as she was carefully caught. Mr R was able to hold her before she was weighed (Red Kites like to play dead so this part of things is pretty easy – she looked a little like a frozen chicken lying on her back) and then it was time to box her up and get going.
We drove back to the exact place that we found her, with her box carefully wedged next to the Toddler in his seat (not your typical back seat companion!). Once there we steadily lifted her box over the fence and into the field. The chances are that her partner (if she indeed has one) will have been continuously returning to look for her, so it was important to let her go back in familiar territory.
As Mr R carefully opened the lid, she played dead for a brief moment before realising she suddenly had her freedom back, giving us a quick flying display before disappearing out of sight. I am so glad we didn’t leave her to be hit by another car, and that she got to fly another day…
A strangely moving but lovely start to a wet and drizzly Friday…
Hi Emma, what a sense of achievement you must have felt to watch such a magnificent bird fly off into the wild again, knowing that without you and the lifesavers at The Hawk Conservancy the story wouldn’t have ended well.
xx
It was a nice to be able to be part of her rescue story! Thanks Debbie! :) x
Wow, that was very moving and I’m not even an animal person. It reminded me of the film, Kizzy. Do you remember that film?
I do remember – Kez? I called our resident Kestral in Bavaria that. Such a beautiful but sad film. Not as bad as Tarka the Otter though, I still can’t watch that! Thanks R! :)
Oh yes, Kez, not Kizzy. (Kizzy was the girl in the story Diddakoi.)
I know someone called Kizzy too! :D
What a lovely bird! You’ve done a brilliant job by making it good to be independent.
Thanks Fatima! (:
wow. well done. I’ve never seen so many around as there are this year. They’ve made a huge come back in some parts, but still room to grow.
Thanks so much! Couldn’t just leave her there! :) x
So beautiful! So pleased you stopped xx
Aw thanks Spud. xxx
Well done for the rescue! I never knew the importance of having to return them to the place you found them in case of a partner looking for them x
I hadn’t really thought about it either! Thanks Louise! :) x
Aww, she is absolutely beautiful. I recently went to the picturesque Elan Valley in Mid-Wales, which is a known site for red kite sightings. We saw a couple circling above us during our stay.
Thanks so much, they are gorgeous birds aren’t they? :)
What an amazing thing you have done for her. That’s made me smile! Well done. x
Thank you Alex! (: x
That’s so nice that you nursed her back to health again, I bet she’s loving the freedom x
Can’t claim the glory for the nursing part, the Hawk Conservancy did that – but it was lovely setting her free again! :) Thank you x
From a guy who has a cheetah to hawk named Kitty,fly high and soar free!!
Great rescue by the way!!
Thanks Patrick! (:
Oh my goodness how amazing is this! How wonderful you got to look after her, nurse her back to health and set her free together.
Thanks Sarah, a slightly surreal experience! :D
This is a lovely story and it’s so great that you got to release Kitty yourself, she’s a gorgeous looking thing! I’ll read your earlier update about her too.
Thanks so much! :)
She is so beautiful! Well done for looking after her so much and getting her free safely. Such a nice story for a Monday!
Thanks so much Ashleigh! :)
Your Video is just lovely. She flew off so quickly we did not get a chance for any still pics. Well done Emma, it was on your insistence that she was rescued and luckily The Hawk Conservancy with its experts is only a few miles up the road. So all in all this beautiful bird was given a new life, the alternative if we hadn’t discovered her when we did, could have been disastrous. x
Thank you! See I knew my stubborness would come in handy at times! :D xxx