IN the 1960s and 1970s, birdwatchers in Lancashire tended to put the flags out to celebrate the sighting of a bird of prey.

In the last 30 years there has been a dramatic improvement - so dramatic that one single factor cannot have been responsible for what has happened.

One factor has certainly been the reduction of smoke in the environment. Every home and factory burned coal in those days and the polluted air reduced the number of insects almost to nil.

This had a knock-on effect as the small birds which fed on the insects were not there either. The birds, such as the sparrowhawk, which feed upon small birds were therefore absent.

Another important factor has been a more sensible use of agricultural chemicals. These were sprayed on the land to kill insects and affected small birds. When they were eaten by birds of prey, not only were some poisoned but the chemicals had the effect of making the egg shells thinner. When the birds started to incubate the eggs they were crushed and breeding failed.

Now that the chemicals have been banned and safer products evolved, bird populations have improved.

Yet another factor has been the general public's attitude to wildlife. Young and old alike now know the value of conservation and how important it is to protect all our wildlife, especially creatures which were once threatened with extinction. Kestrels have always been common and this delightful species breeds in towns and can make use of crevices in buildings. They feed on small rodents, especially mice, and they are very useful in keeping down vermin.

On the other hand, peregrine falcons have increased rapidly over the last few years. Their main item of food is street pigeons and in this sense they are also useful birds. People who keep racing pigeons, however, do not like peregrines and there is no doubt that they are a nuisance on occasions.

It seems, however, that peregrines tend to catch older and therefore slower pigeons. Most people agree that the peregrine still needs to be protected.

The merlin is an attractive moorland bird of prey which is very much under threat.

It is very kestrel-like but is smaller and flies faster and closer to the ground. It is extinct in many parts of Britain but one of its strongholds is around the Lancashire moorlands.

This goes to prove that the wildlife in and around the old cotton towns of Lancashire is alive and doing much better than was the case a few years ago.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.