THE MAN behind a programme to reintroduce birds that were “as common as crows”, says Petersfield residents have nothing to fear from the raptors flying in the town’s skies.
Recently there has been a handful of sightings of red kites, above Petersfield and Steep, and fears have been voiced the birds, once extinct in the UK, could be dangerous.
Dr Campbell Murn, of the Hawk Conservancy Trust near Andover, was behind the release in 2005 of 15 young red kites in Hampshire.
He said: “They take carrion, road kill and other dead animals. The biggest prey they could take would be a sick rat. They wouldn’t take cats, rabbits or lambs, they are purely scavengers.
“In medieval times they were protected because they kept towns clean, they were as common as crows or seagulls. They even got a mention by Shakespeare.
“It is great they are being seen over Petersfield, as breeding pairs only have about a chick a year, so they are still reasonably rare.“
Dr Murn’s reassurances come after Steep resident Steve Cook (55), of Hayes Cottages, saw two kites circling above the village.
The landscape gardener and keen member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said: “They are beautiful birds, elegant and effortless flyers.
“I put pieces of chicken on my shed roof, and they swooped down and took them. They come in at high speed and grab the pieces in passing, it’s an amazing sight, fantastic, as they are so big.
“But when I told people they did seem a bit worried that they could be some sort of massive, marauding predators who might take rabbits, cats or even lambs.”
It’s thought the hills above Steep would make ideal nest sites for kites, and this year there have been reported sightings of them above Penns Place in Petersfield, and above the town centre.