Resilience

Once protected as street cleaners in the city of London during the medieval era, red kite were a prominent species in the UK for centuries. At the turn of the 16th century, attitudes changed. These majestic birds were now regarded as vermin, with bounties paid for each kite killed. Farmers and gamekeepers shot and poisoned them, to protect their animals.

The next three hundred years that followed nearly saw the red kite wiped out from the UK altogether, with only a handful of breeding pairs known to exist in the Welsh countryside. It has only been in the last thirty years that have seen their population grow thanks to kite that were reintroduced from Sweden and Spain. It is now said that in Wales alone, there are around 2,500 breeding pairs!

While travelling through Wales on a motorbike tour around the UK, I stopped at the Bwlch Nant yr Arian visitor centre. I was getting information about a forest trail that I was looking to explore when I was informed that the wild red kite in the area were about to be fed.

I headed down to the lake to discover hundreds of kite circling above. They dove from the sky like fighter planes to collect their prized snacks patiently in turn – a sight to behold.

This is my favourite photo I captured from that day. To me it captures the elegance and strength of the species through the bird's posture and vivid silhouetting. Serving as a testament to the centuries of resilience red kite had to endure to survive.

Print Sizes

Details

• FREE GLOBAL SHIPPING
• Printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag®, a premium white cotton paper with a soft textured feel. Boasting brilliant colours, deep blacks with an impressive, three-dimensional pictorial depth
• Print includes a 5mm border