The Red kite was blasted from the skies of England, largely on the basis of a misconception. It was perceived as a threat to game birds, The Red kite is actually much more a carrion feeder (like a vulture) rather than a hunting raptor. Small numbers of birds were eventually flown in to be released in the Chiltern hills in 1990 but now there are an estimated 2,000 breeding pairs, operating in most English counties (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/20/red-kites-thriving-in-england-30-years-after-reintroduction). It has been claimed that this is one of the most successful reintroduction programmes that has ever been carried out. One of the reasons for the success, of course, is that the birds do a valuable 'cleaning job', removing the myriad of animal and bird casualties from the verges of roads and motorways. Food might have been a bit less frequent with the traffic reduction evident in the Covid-19 lockdown but the kites still fly!
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