Na 20 jaar weer succesvol broedgeval van Rode Wouw Milvus milvus in Nederland

In 2008, a Red Kite successfully raised a single chick to fledging in the northeastern Netherlands. This was the first successful breeding attempt since 1988, when one (but probably two. Table 2) pair(s) had raised fledglings. The typical kite nest was built in an oak Quercus robur, at a height of 17 m (some 4.5 m underneath the canopy). The nest cup measured 20 x 13.5 cm (measured well after fledging, on 8 September), and was littered with colourful rags, sheep wool and prey remains. Nest building was recorded in April, and first signs of nestling(s) were noticed on 17 June when small faecal droppings were noticed underneath the nest. A single chick was recorded from the ground on 2 July, and a full-grown fledgling stood on the nest on 29 July (about 47 days old, and capable of flight). The last observation of the adult birds with their fledgling was on 2 August. During a nest visit on 8 September, prey remains and pellets were collected on the nest, resulting in the identification of 43 respectively 24 prey items (Table 1). Even this biased sample showed a catholic choice of prey, including at least five species of mammals and 12 species of birds. Fish and offal completed the list of prey, and these were probably largely scavenged.