I've been a member of the RSPB for nearly 40 yrs and will continue to be so, safe in the knowledge that they do their utmost to safeguard all our birds! Birds of Prey are still subject to lots of persecution as the absence of Hen Harriers on our northern moors shows. Mr Murray needs an education. DC

David Cleal, Slough, England

Mr Murray shows ignorance of the dynamics of nature. Predators only survive when prey species populations are large enough and sustainable. They are the effect of population sizes of other birds not the cause. The real causes of the diminishing bird populations are primarily man-made.

W. Smith, Beaconsfield,

As a birdwatcher spending hundreds of hours in the field in Buckinghamshire, my own eyes tell me what scientific surveys confirm: raptors are NOT affecting other birdlife. Indeed in Bucks we have recovering populations of Bullfinches and Thrushes and plenty of Red Kites!

Ed Griffiths, Great Missenden, Bucks

Mr Murray
There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support what you say, infact the evidence is the opposite.

Birds of prey are at the top of the food change, and an increase in their numbers indicates that their prey species must also be at a sustainable level.

A Shearman, Dagenham, England