Red kite released back to wild after treatment

An ailing red kite found on a Co Wicklow roadside was successfully released back into the wild yesterday.

The two-year-old male bird, part of a protected species, was found by a passerby on a secondary road near the Beehive Inn, 3km from Wicklow town, last Thursday.

At first it seemed injured, but when no marks were found, its lethargy posed concern.

Vet Gillian Hicks and her team at Clover Hill Veterinary in nearby Glenealy, assessed the bird, which showed no signs of injury, leading to the conclusion that it could have suffered shock.

Dubbed “Damien” after the character in horror film The Omen due to his 666 tag number, the bird was one of a batch released in Wicklow in 2010, and came to Ireland from Wales.

“There seemed to be nothing obviously wrong with the bird but it wasn’t as energetic as it should be,” said Marc Ruddock of the Red Kite Project. “Gillian and her team did a great job and took some samples for testing before handing it over to us

“The bird was kept in a cage for a couple of days and monitored and by today was raring to go.”

Once the project volunteers were satisfied Damien was at full health, he was released back into his natural habitat near Redcross.

The Red Kite Project has been working to build up red kite stock since 2007 and has released 120 birds, mostly in Wicklow, with a small number released in Dublin last year.

This year saw the Irish-bred chicks breed for the first time, which was a great milestone for the project which is run through the Golden Eagle Trust.

* www.goldeneagle.ie