A NEW red kite conservation campaign is to be launched this week as numbers of fledgling chicks hit a new high in the North East.
The public is being asked to help campaigners protect the birds of prey after four were found poisoned last year.
The 2011 project will be launched in Hexham on Saturday when the red kites bus opens its doors to the public for four hours.
After that, the message will be taken to schools and other groups in the region under the slogan Think Kite – Act Right.
Ken Sanderson, Chairman of the Friends of Red Kites group, said: “We want to raise public awareness of the red kites, and especially the illegal persecution of them.
“Last year, four were poisoned after being attracted to baits laced with the banned poison Carbofuran.
“We are asking people to be on the lookout for bait such as pheasant or rabbit which may have been laced with this poison, and the indicator would be if there were carcases of the likes of buzzards and foxes nearby.
“This year, we have recorded 24 fledgling red kite chicks, which is ahead of our previous best figure of 20 in 2009, and altogether we estimate there are now 70 to 80 birds in the Derwent Valley.
“We have a main roost at Gibside and satellite roosts elsewhere – for example, 14 birds at Highfield, Rowlands Gill, and eight at Beda Hills, Lintzford.
“It’s really encouraging – we have tagged 13 of the 24 chicks and ringed a 14th while some were too young to tag.
“Now the new campaign Saturday is aimed at engaging the public to help us help the red kites.”
Hexham Mayor Coun Terry Robson will launch the campaign at the Wentworth car park in Hexham at 11 am on Saturday, with local MP Guy Opperman in attendance.
The red bus carrying advisers and information will be there from 10am until 2pm after setting off from Winlaton Mill at 9.30am.
Red kites were reintroduced to these shores in 2004 after a 170-year absence.
A total of 94 kites were released in the lower Derwent Valley between 2004 and 2006 under the five-year Northern Kites Project, managed by the RSPB and Natural England and backed by The National Trust and The Forestry Commission with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the SITA Trust.
