Red kite v Buzzard

Saurophaganax

Hi all

I was wondering as Red Kites and Buzzards take essentially the same prey, how do they avoid competition in areas where they overlap?

Cheers

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Where both exist in the UK there are sometimes lower densities but both nest in many areas. Buzzards are more generalist feeders that Red Kites and take a wider range of prey. Nature is well adapted to this type of competition.

If only it were an issue here!

Birdnuts

Norah Rancid Senator wrote: »

Where both exist in the UK there are sometimes lower densities but both nest in many areas. Buzzards are more generalist feeders that Red Kites and take a wider range of prey. Nature is well adapted to this type of competition.

If only it were an issue here!

Very true - kites are a much more delicate bird(despite been bigger) than buzzards and depend much more on scavenging. They are the closest thing we have to vultures(who are themselves the largest raptors on the planet despite rarely catching their own prey).

Saurophaganax

Norah Rancid Senator wrote: »

If only it were an issue here!

I see lots of both in Wicklow. Buzzards are usually beside main roads while Red Kites seem to prefer more rural, forested areas.

bobwilliams

Saurophaganax wrote: »

I see lots of both in Wicklow. Buzzards are usually beside main roads while Red Kites seem to prefer more rural, forested areas.

spotted the nicest biggest kite I've ever seen on Sunday.
Rural area on the road from the Beehive towards Rathdrum.

dodderangler

bobwilliams wrote: »

spotted the nicest biggest kite I've ever seen on Sunday.
Rural area on the road from the Beehive towards Rathdrum.

Seen her a good bit.
She is a big un alri. But they are still small birds. Just have huge wings.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

dodderangler wrote: »

Seen her a good bit.
She is a big un alri. But they are still small birds. Just have huge wings.

In fairness, the Red Kite is longer, wider and heaver than a buzzard . Hardly a small bird - particularly by Irish standards.

dodderangler

Norah Rancid Senator wrote: »

In fairness, the Red Kite is longer, wider and heaver than a buzzard . Hardly a small bird - particularly by Irish standards.

Body wise they are quite small. Most if the weight is in them massive wings. But yes they can be heavier than our buzzards but not by much. I'd put both near same weight but kite maybe getting the edge

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Having handled both , I can tell you the Red Kite body length is greater than that of the Buzzard.

Male Red Kites are up to 50% heavier than male Buzzards; the female about 30%. This difference is not accounted for solely by the wings.

Discounting the tail, Red Kites are between 10 and 15cm longer.

However, when it comes to raptors, size is ultimately referenced by wingspan and in this criteria the Red Kite is bigger.

magicbastarder

saw a kite and a buzzard sharing the same airspace earlier; we only saw them for about 30s but there didn't seem to be any aggro between them. it was in north county dublin - would many kites be found in the area now? it's the first definite sighting i've seen of one in that area.

Bsal

The Red kites that were released in north county Dublin are quite dispersed now and hard to find, but they are occasionally spotted around Lusk, Rogerstown, Ballyboughal etc. Buzzards on the other hand are a lot more frequent.

magicbastarder

cheers - saw them as we were leaving thornton park equestrian centre.

stevensi

I had 2 red kites over the grand canal in Lucan today. I've seen them in North Dublin but this is the furthest south I've seen them since they were reintroduced in the county.