Unfortunately, the Edmundbyers area of County Durham, (which is located inside the North Pennines Area Of Natural Beauty) is no stranger to raptor persecution. In 2020 two satellite tagged Red Kites joined the ‘disappeared’ after their tags inexplicably stopped transmitting. The last fix from one of the birds came from the Derwent Gorge and the other came from a grouse moor near Derwent Reservoir.
Despite an extensive search by highly trained RSPB staff neither the birds nor their tags were found. In addition to the two missing tagged birds another Red Kite was found dead in the same area in February 2021. The post mortem revealed that it had been poisoned, poisoned with a cocktail of lethal chemicals that are commonly used to kill birds of prey. In November of the same year, a second Red Kite was found dead on a grouse moor in the Edmundbyers area. The post mortem revealed that it had been poisoned prior to being shot with an arrow or crossbow bolt.
On 17 March 2023, a member of the public, walking along a public footpath adjacent to Burnhope Burn, south-west of Edmundbyers, found an injured Red Kite and reported it to the RSPB. Members of the RSPB investigations team attended and located the bird in a bracken bed; alive but unable to fly. The team were able to recover the bird and take it to Jean Thorpe, the renowned avian rehabilitator, and Mark Naguib, an expert avian vet, for treatment. An x-ray revealed that the bird’s body was peppered with shotgun pellets, several of which had broken a wing. That makes a total of five cases of raptor persecution in the area that we know of in the last two and half years. That is nothing short of outrageous.
Red Kites are afforded special protection by Schedule1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1982. However, despite this legal protection, which has been in place for decades, they continue to be persecuted. The continued persecution of birds of prey is a national disgrace and these cases that have all occurred in a confined area of County Durham dominated by grouse moors are a damning testimonial that speaks to the attitude towards raptors by some of the people in that area.
Friends of Red Kites [FoRK], a voluntary monitoring and community engagement organisation, based in the North East, were dismayed by this latest case and commented:
“We were sickened to hear that yet another Red Kite has been found on the moorlands of the North Pennines suffering a result of illegal persecution. Since the re-introduction of Red Kites to the North East of England in 2004, a number of birds have been found dead on or adjacent to these moorlands which are managed for grouse shooting. After nearly 20 years the population of breeding birds in the area has barely advanced above 20 pairs. By comparison, populations of Red Kites in other areas, where they have been released, like the Chilterns, are booming. It is a sad indictment on parts of society that the people of the North East are denied seeing these beautiful birds gracing our skies more widely.”
If you have any information about this crime can report it to:
- Durham Constabulary’s Wildlife Crime Officer, PC Dave Williamson
email – david.williamson@durham.police.uk or visit Barnard Castle Police Station
- The RSPB’s Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101
- Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111
Despite the best efforts or the person(s) who shot the Red Kite, it survived its wounds. Thanks to the person who initially found the bird, the RSPB Investigations Team and the expert care provided by Mark and Jean almost one month after being shot it was fit to be released back to the wild in Yorkshire where it will, hopefully, live a long and happy life.
NERF
12 April 2023
Northern England Raptor Forum 