I've had to take dead birds to the vets many times before, but this time I had a real sinking feeling. Minutes after handing over the limp corpse I was staring at an X-ray, which confirmed my worst fears.

I could see 11 pieces of gunshot in what had been a magnificent, female peregrine. She had been slaughtered – most probably on her nest. The inscribed metal ring on her leg gave a tiny insight into her life. She hatched…