Page 28 - Oundle Life April 2021

HIGH
FLIERS
In the skies above Oundle
You don’t have to dig too deeply to discover Oundle’s well established and arguably, prestigious, connection with birds. It was back in the 1880s when aristocrat, Lord Lilford, successfully introduced the Little Owl
– and more obvious – bird of prey, the Red Kite. With the population restricted to a small number in Wales, the reintroduction into East Northamptonshire in 1995-1998 has
into Britain at Lilford Hall and in so
doing, set the foundations for today’s
now stable population of some 6,000
pairs in the UK. The first President
of the Northamptonshire Natural
History Society, Lilford was also one
of the eight founders of the British Ornithologists’ Union and its president from 1867 until his death in 1896.
Fast forward to the present day and Little Owls can still be seen in the Oundle environs, along with another, more recently reintroduced
been a resounding success and these magnificent raptors, with their unique forked tails, are now a regular site in our region.
One more raptor and Britain’s fastest bird of prey, the Peregrine, can frequently be seen high up on the spire of Oundle Church, where they
rest between hunting trips. Look out if you’re passing!
Other birds are available, of course and the region has much to boast about, with some of the local woodlands, such as Ashton Wold and
Lord Lilford, successfully introduced the Little Owl
28