Eliminated from England by the late 19th century...

Photo: AnnMarie Jones / BWPA / Natural Engl/PA

Red Kite reintroduced in the 1990s

The beautiful and spectacular Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a mid-sized raptor that was eliminated from England 120 years ago by ruthless gamekeepers.   A century later, the decline in gamekeeper numbers and relenting attitudes towards this bird of prey and carrion-eater, allowed for reintroduction of the species in the 1990s.  Today, it is a thriving, widely admired birds in the English Midlands.   As evidence of the resurgence, near the village of Laxton, Northhamptonshire, there is a large kite roost where as many as 40 of the beautiful kites fill the sky with awe-inspiring aerobatics.  Red Kites continue to thrive elsewhere in western Europe and north-west Africa.   Thus ends a suitable tale of heartening prodigality.

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BarrytheBirder