In search of red kites: census and nest monitoring campaign in Basilicata

During the spring of 2021, expert ornithologists, commissioned by the Aspromonte National Park Authority, carried out intensive fieldwork to locate and census red kite nests in a large area of Basilicata.
Basilicata is the Italian region that hosts the largest breeding population in the whole of Italy and was therefore identified as a possible donor region for young red kites to be moved and then released in the Aspromonte National Park.
The Basilicata Region has guaranteed support for this operation, which is at the heart of the LIFE MILVUS project, but, of course, the removal of young red kites from nests and their transfer to Aspromonte will only take place if we are certain that the population is in a good state of conservation.
So far, the census and nest monitoring work has provided encouraging results, allowing over 30 nests to be located. In addition, around 60 territories have been identified, restricted areas in which the exact location of the nest has not been pinpointed due to difficulties linked to the morphology of the territory or to avoid risks of disturbance to breeding pairs.
The field work, which was carried out by ornithologists from DREAM Italia and Studio Pteryx and ornithologists Giuseppe Giglio and Stefania Pellegrino, will be repeated in spring 2021 in order to acquire further data on nesting and identify possible nests in which to carry out sampling.