What is the biggest threat to red kites?
Red kites have no natural predators, so their biggest threats come from the actions of humans. A major threat is still the risk of poisoning. Persecution of red kites is much reduced nowadays, but it does occasionally still happen. Red kites have perished as a result of eating illegally poisoned baits left out for other animals (e.g. foxes), they have also been known to die after picking up the corpses of legally poisoned rodents. A leaflet about rat poisons and the threats to birds of prey is available by calling Natural England’s Enquiry Service on 0845 600 3078. They are also very susceptible to disturbance when they are nesting.
