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Oldest Red Kite on record found in Oxfordshire

Aragon, the 29-year-old Red kite <i>(Image: Chrissie Gaines)</i>
Aragon, the 29-year-old Red kite (Image: Chrissie Gaines)

The oldest Red Kite on record was found injured by schoolchildren in Oxfordshire before dying at a bird rescue centre.

The Red Kite was one of the original chicks bought over from Spain as part of a UK reintroduction scheme between 1990 and 1994.

Aragon, a 29-year-old red kite bird was found by a group of children in Brize Norton after he had been attacked.

He was taken in by Chrissie Gaines, who runs a rescue programme for owls and other birds of prey.

The bird was treated for its injuries but died at the old age of 29, three years older than the previous oldest recorded red kite.

The average lifespan of a red kite is on average 10 years old.

A Just Giving page has been set up in Aragon's memory. You can visit the page here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/aragon.

Ms Gaines said: “He came from Spain as a chick as part of the reintroduction programme.

“He was released on an estate in Stockenchurch and eventually made his way to Brize Norton.

“Everyone is quite amazed that this bird has lived this long.

“When my friend from my British Trust for Ornithology told me, I couldn’t believe it

“We did our best to save him but I think his age got the best of him.”

Thirteen young birds were first brought over from Spain and released in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in an area on the border of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in July 1990.

A scheme had also started in Scotland and further reintroductions followed in both countries over the next four years, with the first birds successfully breeding in 1992, and by 1996, at least 37 pairs had bred in southern England.

A spokesperson for British Trust for Ornithology, said: “It's amazing to think how the UK's Red Kite population has recovered since this remarkable bird was released as a youngster.

“The UK is now home to some 4,400 pairs of Red Kite, up from just a couple of hundred in the mid-1990s.

“The fact we're able to identify this individual and work out its record-breaking age is testament to the value of ringing and tagging, which reveal so much about the lives of these remarkable creatures without affecting the birds themselves.”

In the 16th and 17th Centuries, Red Kites were one of the most common birds of prey in England and yet by the 19th Century, the entire population had been wiped out as they were considered a threat to livestock.

The RSPB has described the reintroduction programme as ‘one of the UK’s biggest conservation success stories’.