"When the first red kites appeared, I got chills."
A conservationist has described how, 20 years ago, he got "goosebumps" as he witnessed the arrival of a new colony of red kites as part of a significant reintroduction project. Between 2004 and 2006, the Northern Kites project released around 100 of the raptors into Gateshead, Tyneside's lower Derwent Valley. The birds were once widely seen in Britain, but by the 19th century, environmental degradation had nearly driven them out of the country. According to RSPB officer Pat Thompson, he was "staggered" that the strategy had been in...