A little more than 50 years ago the kite was almost extinct in these islands. Even now, after half a century of protection, there are so few kites in Britain that the bird is still on the danger list. There are those who believe that the few remaining birds are becoming weak owing to inbreeding. Indeed, there are certain facts which tend to confirm this view. Attempts have, therefore, been made to introduce fresh blood. For instance, many years ago the late Commander A. T. Wilson, of Garth, brought kites' eggs from Spain and introduced them into buzzards' nests.

I obtained more Spanish eggs a few years ago with the same object in view. Both attempts were an utter failure. The fact is that the kite in Spain lays its eggs five weeks before the buzzard in mid- Wales begins to incubate, and also begins to sit from the laying of the first egg. The result is that these Spanish kites' eggs are always spoilt and addled even before they arrive in this country. After these failures there remained only one other means of introducing fresh blood, namely, by bringing young kites from Spain. Even then it would be useless to turn them loose unless they were provided with food daily during the period while they were getting into good condition and learning to fend for themselves. In fact, they would have to be treated in the same way as a falconer brings up his young falcons "at hack."

In the spring of 1951, while on a visit to Gibralter, we met Andres Avila, guardia de coto to the Duke of Alcata. Andres is in charge of all the cork woods to the north of Algeciras, where, in past and happier days, the Calpe Hounds used to hunt. This remarkable man is known to many ornithologists. That first visit to Almoraima will never be forgotten. As Andres took us to see a nest of the Short- toed Eagle we saw five kites in the air together, while high up the mountainside were circling Griffon Vultures and a pair of Bonelli's Eagles. After we had returned to England, a message came from Andres that he had taken a pair of young kites for us. Though there is no difference in appearance between the sexes, Andres insisted that they were a pair and that they must be called Diego and Pepa (James and Josephine).

There was a delay and some difficulty in bringing the young birds over, but at last they arrived, in poor condition owing to prolonged captivity. It was necessary to nurse them back to health. They were handed over to a gamekeeper well known to bird watchers, Ben Price, and his son Walter, of Rhulen, Radnorshire. (The likeness of Ben Price and Andres to each other in appearance is uncanny. They are twins to look at).

Food was the first problem. The kite is not a clean feeder. It likes carrion, and the riper it is the better. Butcher's offals were their mainstay, but all creatures like a change of diet. The kites enjoyed dead Moles, Rats, Sparrow, Grey Squirrels and a Woodpigeon. The only carrion which they refused to tackle was a Carrion Crow.

Then came the great moment at midsummer when Diego and Pepa were released to fly free and to exercise themselves. Once a day they came for their rations when summoned by Walter Price. Their condition improved rapidly and soon they learned to soar high up to the clouds and look for natural food. When the oats were cut they began to spend a lot of time catching something succulent -possibly grasshoppers. In September they found a dead sheep unburied and on this they gorged themselves. From then onwards they did not come back to their old home.

The next event in the kites' lives was the arrival of a sheep-killing dog - that curse of Wales - which began to provide food in plenty on the hillsides. Diego and Pepa have remained in the neighbourhood of their home, but they have become wild birds. I do not know what their fate will be, but we hope that if they are a pair they will return to nest where they will be welcomed and protected.

There are, no doubt, some who will ask what is the point of bringing kites all the way from Spain. I can only reply that I am an idealist and do not wish to see another species of bird disappear from my homeland. We believe that what we have done will benefit the kite. The introduction of Diego and Pepa can have done no harm to anyone and may have done a great deal of good. Good luck to them wherever they may be. They are in country suitable for kites, where the late Arthur Brook and I knew of two kites' nests between the wars, both of which, I regret to say, came to a bad end.

Editors comment. It is generally accepted that these earlier attempts to introduce new blood into the Welsh population were unsuccessful. None of the resulting birds were ever thought to have survived long enough to have bred successfully themselves. This view is supported by genetic profiling carried out at Nottingham University in the 1990's.