BREAKING NEWS:
Barry Nicolle, a wildfowl collector in south west Scotland, has pleaded guilty to 14 charges this morning at Dumfries Sheriff Court in relation to the illegal poisoning of red kites in the area.
Nicolle’s guilty pleas relate to the poisoning of four red kites, placing out poisoned baits, possession of illegal poisons and illegal trap use, according to Ian Thomson, Head of Investigations at RSPB Scotland.
Police Scotland led a multi-agency investigation, assisted by the RSPB, after a number of poisoned red kites were discovered in the area between 2018-2020 (see here, here, here and here for previous blogs).
Nicolle is due to be sentenced on 19th May 2023.
I expect full details of the case will be published post-sentencing.
UPDATE 6th April 2023: Police Scotland statement on conviction of red kite poisoner Barry Nicolle (here)
UPDATE 19th May 2023: Monumentally inadequate sentence for Barry Nicolle, serial red kite poisoner in Dumfries & Galloway (here).
Raptor Persecution UK 
Once again, the time to get this to court seems very long and not much of a deterrent…
I’m sure this ba….* lives up the lane from me. There was a lot more than 4 Red Kites killed. I was very distressed to have found one of the Red Kites. Jail would be too good for him, but I hope they lock him up for a long time.
I lived in Reading for 25 years, the red kites were reintroduced here and they bred well and they were a sight to behold, we moved and I miss them, I even used to feed them on the wing, getting odds and bits from the butcher. Do these idiots not realise they only eat carrion. They are not birds of prey because they do not hunt to eat
I’m afraid that’s not entirely correct, Mary. Kites also actively hunt live prey. Thought that is, of course, no excuse for their criminal persecution.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00063658109476696
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138121000984
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272658103_Breeding_biology_behaviour_diet_and_conservation_of_the_Red_Kite_Milvus_milvus_with_particular_emphasis_on_Mediterranean_populations
No, they don’t “actively” hunt.Red Kites are scavengers and prefer to eat dead animals, road kill. They have been seen to take smaller, softer animals such as mice, voles, rabbits, crows and pigeons but they are fairly weak hunters in comparison to say a buzzard.
I don’t dispute that Kites are “weak hunters” when compared to Buzzards, but they still actively hunt live prey. Why deny scientific fact, when the evidence is in front of you?
Cats kill more birds than kites ever do but we have to put up with them just we have to allow birds of prey to do thier job. In the fifties Malaysia was going bankrupt as rats were overrunning the date plantations thier main export so they introduced Barn owls into all the date plantations within four years the rats were under control and theplantations were again producing enough dates to make money
What’s your point? You sound like you are defending the moron. It puts you in his camp.
Hi Gerald, I think there’s a bit of genuine confusion – Coop certainly isn’t defending this idiot. If you follow his comments on this blog you will be in doubt about that. I think he is trying to convey what I also believe, in that there is no requirement or merit in describing the natural behaviour of any bird in anything other than a truthful and accurate way. Nobody has to mitigate on behalf of any raptors – they are all protected. Whatever the real or imagined impact these kites maybe were or maybe were not having on this blokes ducks & geese, it doesn’t matter – he had no right to do what he did and he will hopefully get the sentence he deserves.
My thanks, spaghnum. I was, indeed, simply stating (and providing scientific evidence for) fact, in politely correcting the statement that Kites “only eat carrion”. I do not sympathize with the individual who committed this, or any other act of wildlife persecution. Everyone here who is familiar with my comments over the years will know that this is most definitely the case.
However, fact is fact, and facts are the most effective weapon we have in combating the lies of those who wish to degrade our natural heritage in order to further their own selfish interests. Each erroneous post (however well-intentioned), whether here, or on anti-social media, simply undermines our cause, by providing the criminal apologists with ammunition.
One final though, if I may…
If we follow the logic of Mary’s qualifying statement…
“They are not birds of prey because they do not hunt to eat”
should tits, flycatchers, chats, hirundines, warblers etc (which undoubtedly do “hunt to eat”) be classed as such?
People like you that feed them are doing them no good at all. It stops natural dispersion and makes them see man as a food source, stopping them foraging for food.
[Ed: comment deleted. Do that again & you’ll be blocked. Fair warning]
Yes totally agree lock him up for ten years or more plus a heavy fine hope he xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx
I wonder what excuse the judge will give for not giving this criminal some serious jail time??
[Ed: comment deleted. It’s not a great idea to libel the Sheriff – or indeed anyone!]
Is he under the age of 25?!
All wild birds are protected by law ,he broke the law and should be severely prosecuted fined and a a custodial sentence there’s no excuse.
What’s the betting it’ll be a suspended sentence.
Genuine question, what is a wildfowl collector? Is it just a euphemism for someone who shoots ducks and geese?
[Ed: I think it’s someone who collects ducks & geese – e.g. like the wildfowl collections at you see at WWT Reserves]
Live ones or dead ones?
Live ones.
It will be interesting to see the sentence as he appears not to be from the ‘shooting fraternity’ so perhaps will not have a prominent QC to act on his behalf.
I suggest you research what a wildlife collector is before you slander the shooting community. It is someone that collects data, and space ins, and reports the data to wildlife Scotland. So in effect someone that is supposed to be protecting the wildlife on reserves. I guess this means that all people working on wildlife reserves are guilty of raptor persecution. I don’t think this comment will last long here!
Dear oh dear! I suggest that you improve your reading skills.
[Ed: Comment deleted & you’re banned]
Seems like I’m not on someone’s Xmas card list! What a shame.
[Ed: she wasn’t commenting about you, Coop. She was commenting about the convicted individual and it went beyond the bounds of decency]
I stand corrected, Ma’am.
Interesting literature in this thread on red kite dietary habits. Thanks for posting.
I am keen on shooting. (Only legal, common species for food) I also have had a lifelong interest and love of all wild life including even rats! Square that one! I have a particular fondness for raptors. I find the actions of this criminal utterly repugnant and hope that he receives a custodial sentence harsh enough to deter others. Not all shooters are enemies of birds of prey and with education and effective enforcement the numbers that are could be reduced. The biggest threat to all our wildlife still remains habitat loss though.
“The biggest threat to all our wildlife still remains habitat loss though.”
Not the case when it comes to Hen harriers and Peregrines in UK uplands, Rob.
It’s wrong to poison Raptors and there is no excuse. However those with wild fowl collections and any other vulnerable captive species need to ensure that their birds and animals have a physical barrier between them and the kites. Red kites are very common in West Wales and I have known them to take Red Brested geese, muscovies, chickens, new born lambs and even young puppies. Perhaps this person should have netted his enclosures to keep the kites out rather than kill them.
I think we need more evidence before we believe your claims on red kite feeding habits. But perhaps you’re right about netting wildfowl collections .
Would you be so kind as to post a link to any peer-reviewed evidence regarding the prey items you mention? And perhaps you’d also like to warn these good folk of the danger to their livestock!
https://www.gigrin.uk/about-gigrin-farm/
After all, they’ve only been at it for thirty years!
I found a red kite trying to make brunch out of one of my Indian runner drakes last summer, was a bit of a shock for all three of us.
Drake survived with lots of stitches and vet care but at no time did I blame the kite, I put up several deterrents and no further problems.
They hunt the wild rabbits here quite successfully.
I’d suggest that the very fact that your duck survived illustrates the difficulty Kites have in subduing larger prey, Tracy. I can recommend Ian Carter’s Arlequin Press monograph The Red Kite (2007) which includes some very interesting tables on diet.