The red kite, is quite possibly Mallorca’s most precious bird of prey. Both agile and striking because of its chestnut colouring and distinctive white patching under its wings. If you are lucky enough, you may spot this elegant bird hovering high up in the Tramuntana mountain range.

In recent years, the existence of the red kite in the Balearic Islands has been seriously threatened almost to the point of extinction. A study carried out in 2000 by GOB (Balearic Group of Ornithology and Defence of Nature) showed that only 6 reproducing pairs of red kites remained in Mallorca, which was devastating news as a previous study in 1993 showed between 20 and 27 pairs.

A protection campaign was started immediately by GOB, a non governmental organisation and registered charity founded in 1973, where a small radio transmitter was harmlessly attached to each bird allowing their exact movements to be recorded and their habits studied with precision.

The factors that threat the existence of the red kite in Mallorca are still very much there, the main one being the poison used by land owners to protect their hunting grounds from predators such as stray cats. “Cats fed by tourists in the summer months are forced into the wilderness during the winter to search for food and we are trying to discourage the feeding of strays”, says Toni Muñoz, representative of the Department of Conservation of Endangered Species and Natural Places, at GOB, “this way their breeding can be controlled, particularly now there are managed cat communes in existence”.

Although the use of poison is illegal and offenders face conviction, it continues to be an ongoing problem. GOB are encouraging a system to help land owners protect their hunting grounds using more selective methods of predator control, such as traps where animals may be released without harm.

“There are now 20 reproducing pairs of kites living in the Tramuntana area” says Toni. “We have had a bad year in terms of breeding but this has been mainly due to the bout of unstable weather during the earlier part of the year. We are hoping for an exceptional year, next year with around 30 new chicks.”
Funding for Gob comes mainly from membership as well as donations and projects.

For more information, or details of how to become a member, please go to www.gobmallorca.com