The recent shooting of a Red Kite (link) obviously had an impact as the number of friends and colleagues who contacted me to express their disgust at the incident was overwhelming.

The Northern Kites release project is a model of community involvement and connection to our threatened wildlife and, without it, it’s questionable whether the shooting would have created such a stir. Other birds of prey are persecuted to almost unbelievable levels but many, many incidents never make the news.

One of my own favourite birds, the Hen Harrier, may well be the most persecuted species in Britain, but community involvement with the birds that have nested in Northumberland this year (link) is raising the profile of this elegant species. After all, we can only appreciate what we know.