"I am very lucky to work with a group of highly dedicated volunteers who all have a special connection with red kites and the site we work from.
Over the last three years that the scheme has operated, the volunteers have developed our "Virtual Hide" - a 12" square wooden building - into an intriguing, inviting and interesting place to entertain visitors to this Forestry Commission for Wales site called Bwlch Nant-yr-Arian.
The hide has now been landscaped into the surrounding setting, which includes a network of foot and cycle paths that navigate around a lake teeming with wildlife such as golden eye, little grebe, and goosander.
In the summer season, the surrounding woodland hosts nesting tawny owl, pied flycatcher, brambling and wood warbler and numerous other species at all other times of the year.
Of course, stars of the site are the red kites that swoop down in numbers ranging from 35 to 120, for their daily feed of raw meat at 3pm (2pm during the winter).
The volunteers are on hand to offer information, games for the children, show some footage of nesting kites provided by project partners the Welsh Kite Trust while I myself provide short talks (on site) on the history of the red kite in Wales and why they are fed each day.
Visitors can also borrow binoculars to enjoy the kites at close range. If you would like to become part of this great team project then get in touch with joe.hawthorne@rspb.org.uk "
Joe Hawthorne RSPB Officer
your comments
Will Davies, Dunstable
It is all very good seeing all these Red Kite feeding stations, I was involved with the first ever one at the Rubbish Tip in Tregaron, where it all began back in 1984, but we only fed the Kites in Winter. I still think that this should be the case as they are wild birds and if you feed them all year round they will not use their natural instincts and go hunting and scavaning for themselves.
Mon Jan 7 08:31:04 2008
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