There’s something fishy about ‘killers’

2:45pm Tuesday 6th May 2008

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BIRDS of Prey have always fascinated me, and I am always angry when people say that they are killers and need to be exterminated.

Of course they are killers, but they only kill when they are hungry. If I make a list of the most cruel animals in the world then we humans come easily at the top of the list.

Two birds of prey which have been hunted almost to extinction are the Osprey and the Red Kite, but both have been rescued in recent years.

The Osprey is a summer visitor which arrives to nest in April and has a diet made up of fish. Jealous anglers shot the black and white plumaged Osprey to extinction by 1917, but in 1959 a pair returned to Loch Garten in Scotland.

Since then more than 200 pairs have nested in Scotland each year and the population has now spread into England.

There are no more skilful anglers than the osprey which dives into the water to grasp a fish in its talons before rising on its wingspan of almost two metres (six feet) to land in a tree.

There it consumes its fish and at this point the bird is an easy target for cruel gunmen who begrudge the bird the odd fish. Now which animal is cruel?

The Red Kite was once one of the commonest of our birds of prey. In the Middle Ages the bird served as a very important refuse collector and cleared our discarded food which at that time was just thrown into the street. The long, slender body and forked tail, as well as the reddish plumage make this kite very distinctive.

As well as being a refuse collector, the Red Kite also attack domestic fowl and this led to kites being shot, poisoned and trapped to extinction.

A census taken in 1905 revealed that the British population was down to less than 12 pairs.

From its successful re-introduction into Wales, the Red Kite has now spread throughout Britain and this is thanks to the species being given special protection and especially due to the ever-diligent work of the RSPB. The Red Kite nests in woodlands and has also benefited from work done to conserve trees.

For some time naturalists have pointed out that one of the best ways to conserve vulnerable species is to conserve the habitat in which they live.

The RSPB have long been leaders in this area of conservation.