How the Red Kite beat extinction

There are now more than 250 breeding pairs in Mid Wales

The red kite's survival has been one of the conservation success stories of the twentieth century.

Until very recently, the bird of prey was on the brink of extinction with only a few birds living in the hills of the Cambrian Mountains in mid Wales.

But the RSPB and other organisations launched a successful operation which saved the breed from dying out.

Latest estimates put the number of breeding Red Kite pairs in mid Wales at more than 250.

By the turn of the twentieth century, only a handful of red kite breeding pairs remained in the whole of the UK after gamekeepers and farmers had been encouraged to put down poison to kill the bird for hundreds of years.

As its numbers decreased, so the value of its eggs to collectors went up.

Feeding stations Gigrin Farm Feeding Station Pont Einon, Cors Caron, Tregaron Bwlch Nant yr Arian, Ponterwyd

With the Red Kite about to disappear from these lands, the RSPB and other conservation organisations put out a call to action.

The Red Kite population was put under a huge surveillance operation.

Every bird was monitored. Farmers were encouraged to hold daily feeding sessions. Nests were guarded by a team of wardens and volunteer watchers - even a team of Gurkha soldiers were called in to help with guard duties.

Those efforts were not in vain and the Red Kite programme has ensured that the number of breeding Red Kite pairs in mid Wales has increased to more than 250.

As a tribute to its survival skills, the Red Kite was voted Bird of the Century in 1999. A year later, at the turn of the millennium, the Red Kite was also dubbed Wales National Bird.

If you know where to look and what you're looking for, it is now rare to drive through mid Wales without catching at least a glimpse of this elegant raptor with its chestnut plumage and distinctive forked tail.

Not surprisingly perhaps, the regions been dubbed Kite Country.

To be guaranteed of seeing the kite, check out one of the area's Kite Feeding Stations:

The Red Kite is still one of Britain's rarest birds but it has been re-introduced in some other areas, including the Chilterns in England and parts of Scotland.

Monitoring of the Red Kite is now largely carried out by the Welsh Kite Trust.