The red kite feeding station at Nant yr Arian, run by Natural Resources Wales near Aberystwyth, draws up to 100 red kites to a single valley at 3pm daily — one of the great wildlife spectacles in Wales. The kites — russet-orange, long-winged, deeply forked tails — circle, dive, and mob each other over the valley floor in a display that is genuinely astonishing in scale. This is Experience #65 of the Snowdonia 100.
The Feeding
| Location | Nant yr Arian, A44 east of Aberystwyth |
| Feeding time | 3pm daily year-round |
| Numbers | Up to 100 kites at peak winter feeding |
| Visitor centre | Open daily; café, hides, waymarked walks |
| Admission | Car park charge; centre free |
The Red Kite Recovery
The red kite was virtually extinct in Britain by the early 20th century, its last stronghold a handful of pairs in the mid-Wales hill country. The Welsh population — never entirely extinguished — was the seed from which recovery began. Reintroductions to England and Scotland followed; the current British population exceeds 10,000 birds. The daily gathering at Nant yr Arian is a product of deliberate supplementary feeding begun in the 1970s, and the tradition has persisted long enough that the local birds have learned to expect it. Arriving at 2:45pm gives time to settle in the hide before the first birds appear on the ridge above.
The Birds
The red kite is unmistakable in flight: the russet-orange body, the long angled wings, and above all the deeply forked tail that gives it its distinctive silhouette. It is a large bird — wingspan up to 180cm — and at close quarters the detail of its plumage is extraordinary. A hundred circling together above a Welsh valley, calling in their thin mewing voices, is an experience that cannot be replicated in a photograph.
Experience #65 of 100 — Wildlife category.
Independently written — Snowdon.com