Croeso Mawr – Welcome to the Welsh Kite Trust, the charity dedicated to the conservation of the red kite and other raptor species in Wales.
Our achievements are made possible by high quality scientific research and monitoring, many thousands of hours of dedicated voluntary effort and the generous donations of our supporters.
A success story
The Red Kite has been voted the ‘Bird of the 20th Century’ and Wales’ favourite bird. The story of the Red Kite in Britain is a remarkable one and rightly celebrated as one of Britain’s greatest conservation successes.
The Red Kite, a common bird in mediaeval times, suffered greatly in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th Century due to persecution with numbers being reduced to just a handful confined the uplands of mid-Wales. Through the dedicated work of a small band of volunteers, and latterly by the combined efforts of the statutory bodies and RSPB, numbers began to increase during the 1980’s.
The Welsh Kite Trust was set up in 1996 to ensure that this initial success was maintained and the kite has subsequently become a familiar bird across much of Wales to be enjoyed by all. However, continued monitoring of kites is still a vital part of understanding how to conserve the species against future threats, while other raptor species such as kestrel and merlin are now much scarcer than kites within Wales with populations that are rapidly declining. If, like the kite, these amazing birds are to be saved, then urgent action is needed. The start of any conservation program begins by gathering reliable, high quality data from targeted research projects, so that we can fully understand the conservation measures needed.
Many thanks to all who have kindly donated – Diolch yn fawr iawn!