BIRD lovers have sighted once-rare red kites a stone's throw from Coleford.

And local naturalists confirm the distinctive birds of prey, once persecuted to near extinction in Britain, are moving back to the Forest.

Gordon Thomas of Berry Hill, who regularly visits the woodland area rich in wildlife between Staunton and Coleford, says he has seen the birds on a number of occasions.

"They are a magnificent sight soaring and circling at the edge of the woods," he said.

Forest environment officer and wildlife correspondent for the Review Sarah Killingback confirmed there were growing numbers of sightings, including the Coleford area.

"They have also been seen on both banks of the Severn now," she added.

She said the birds could be coming from two directions. They were spreading out from a breeding and release programme in the Chilterns, near Oxford, across to the Cotswolds, and also from a growing population in mid-Wales.

The Forest would make an ideal home for kites, which favour nesting in hanging oak woods.

Kites were once common in Britain, even in towns, living mostly on carrion. Persecution by game interests, organised refuse disposal and dwindling amounts of food to scavenge drove numbers down until, at the turn of the century in Britain, there were just 12 breeding birds in mid-Wales.

Although kites, like buzzards and other birds of prey, are still being killed by illegal poison baits, the reintroduction programme is proving very successful.