Durham Bird Club at 50
The county avifauna, The Birds of Durham (Bowey and Newsome, 2012) records that “A public meeting in late 1974 at Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery to discuss bird watching and recording was well-attended. This was followed on 8 January 1975 by another meeting and enrolment for membership of the Durham Bird Club began shortly afterwards.”
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We shall be organising various projects and events during the year to commemorate this special anniversary. These include a "Bird of the Week" feature, appearing below.
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Bird of the Week - Week 26
Red Kite – A Majestic Return to Our Skies
​​(Photo by Mark Harper)​​​
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Until a little over 20 years ago, Red Kites were almost entirely absent from most of the UK, surviving only in small populations in Wales. Today, thanks to the Northern Kites Project that released 94 birds between 2004 and 2006 into the lower Derwent Valley, these iconic raptors are once again becoming a familiar sight in County Durham.
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Compared to other release sites in England, range expansion for the Derwent Valley population has been notably slow and, for many years, sightings were confined to the core release area. More recently, though, individuals are starting to be seen more regularly beyond the Derwent Valley. Recently, birds have been spotted across County Durham from as far north as Clara Vale, as far west as Westgate, as far south as Scargill, near Barnard Castle and as far east as Whitburn. Their range appears, finally, to be expanding, a testament to both the reintroduction programme and, perhaps, growing community tolerance.
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These birds are unmistakable: large, graceful, with deeply forked tails and slow, soaring flight over open countryside. They’re opportunistic feeders - scavenging as well as hunting small mammals and birds. You might see them catching rising thermals, sometimes in loose groups, drifting over farmland and woodland with silent poise.
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The recovery of Red Kite in our region reflects a conservation success to be celebrated: careful action and community engagement creating real and lasting change.
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Have you seen a Red Kite drifting over your patch, or noticed their expanding presence beyond the Lower Derwent Valley? We’d love to hear where and when.
Red Kites in North East England​
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E-mail: admin@durhambirdclub.org.uk
Social media tags: #DBC #DBCat50 #DurhamBirdClub #BirdOfTheWeek
