Succesvol broedgeval van Rode Wouw Milvus milvus in Salland in 2014

In the eastern Netherlands (52.31°N, 6.18°E), a pair of Red Kites fledged three young. The small nest was situated in a Japanese Larch Larix leptolepis at a height of 22.5 m in small scale farmland with an admixture of woodlots, tree rows, meadows and arable land. During both nest visits (3 and 19 June), when the chicks were resp. 15-20 and 31-36 days old (based on morphometrics), the chicks appeared to be in good condition (Table 1) and the smallest chick showed no retardation in growth as compared to the oldest. On 1 July, a few days before fledging, an dead adult Red Kite was found near the nest, but it turned out not to be one of the parents (which were both recorded at a later date). On the nest, the following prey remains were found: Lepus europaeus (hair), Rattus norvegicus (1 adult and 1 juvenile) and Phasianus colchicus (feathers); the absence of voles in the dietary list – in a vole peak year like 2014 - indicates that voles must have been consumed whole upon delivery, rather than not being captured at all. Breeding Red Kites in The Netherlands are rare with 0-1 pair/year during the past 30 years. This pair may have profited from a very good vole year. Unfortunately, the few pairs recorded as breeding are usually insufficiently detailed observed, and nests hardly ever located.