How shall I feed Red Kites?

Question

We have a lot of Red Kites and Crows in our area. With the weather conditions, the Red Kites can't find enough to eat. They sit in the trees around our house and scream. So I tried to feed them and put some meat on the lawn. 10 minutes later, one of them came flying and took it with him. 

Can anyone tell me how to exactly feed them? Like where should I put the food so that it's best for them to take it? The lawn is no good idea because we have a lot of cats around here. (I'm more worried about the cats).

Alison · Accepted Answer

You can build an elevated platform for the meat. I'd recommend using a length of threaded iron pipe with a flange on the end you can screw through the flange into a piece of half inch ply about two foot square. Make the pipe about eight feet long so you can drive at least two feet into the ground to keep it steady for the heavy birds. That will be too tall for a cat to jump to and they can't climb a pipe. 
I'd recommend putting the pipe in the ground (drive it in from atop a ladder and use a piece of wood over the end to protect the threads while pounding it in with a good sized mallet.) Then screw on the flange then get underneath and drive screws through the holes in the flange into the plywood platform.
You might consider painting the plywood with a few coats of good enamel paint so you can clean it off once in a while so the meat residue doesn't start to stink.
Good for you looking out for the Kites.

amkestrel · Answer

You really shouldn't be feeding them at all. I know you mean well, but a bird that isn't experienced at hunting for itself is a dead bird. You can't realistically hope to be able to feed them daily. 

Red Kite numbers are declining on their own. They need to hunt on their own and remain weary of humans. If you feed them, this can't happen.

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How shall I feed Red Kites?

2 Answers