A project to help people learn more about birds of prey has been launched.

The Red Kites in the Chilterns project will be aimed at landowners, farm managers and schools, using leaflets, fact sheets and a programme of walks, talks and events.

The re-introduction of red kites into the Chilterns between 1989 and 1993 was a major success story.

This year more than 100 breeding pairs raised 170 chicks within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

A major colony nests in the hills above Chinnor and the birds are regularly seen in the skies above Thame, Chinnor, Watlington and Stokenchurch.

The project is being organised by Cathy Rose, on behalf of the Royal Society for the Proection of Birds and the Chilterns Conference.

She said: "Interest in red kites is already out there it's my job to develop that interest and reach out to those people who have yet to discover them.

"The birds' return to the Chilterns is one of the greatest-ever conservation success stories and something we can all enjoy."

The kites used to be common scavengers in the streets of Elizabethan London, but in recent times they faced extinction in England and Wales.

The spectacular birds are russet-coloured, with a five-foot wingspan and distinctive forked tail.