BIRDS OF PREY
DURING my lifetime, this country has seen a number of arrivals and departures involving species of birds. We have lost, or are about to lose several, while gaining new ones without the involvement of man. The collared dove, first seen in the 1950s, is now common across most of the country. Egrets have arrived spontaneously and are steadily spreading.
Aided by man’s intervention, the white-tailed eagle flies again Scotland and now also on the South Coast, although I am not sure its reintroduction was wise. The most successful “intervention” involves the red kite, which had declined to about 12
