WORCESTERSHIRE bird lovers could soon have a rare new visitor to watch out for in the county.

The red kite, which almost became extinct towards the end of the 19th Century, has made a dramatic recovery in the past few years, due to targeted conservation action.

It mainly breeds in Wales - but the RSPB is hopeful it will spread to Worcestershire over the next five years.

This is one of the findings in a new report published today, The Population Status of Birds in the UK.

The report has been put together by a partnership of conservation organisations. It has reviewed the population status of all the UK's wild birds, highlighting those species most in need of conservation help.

Two of the country's favourite birds, the starling and the house sparrow, have been added to the list of birds in most danger.

The two species have experienced contrasting fortunes in Worcestershire.

The sparrow has bucked the national trend and become more common in the county, but the starling population appears to be falling in the same way as it is nationwide.

Thousands of Worcestershire birdwatchers helped with the research for the report, taking part in the Big Garden Bird Watch.

They were asked to count the number of each species seen in their gardens over a one-hour period. These figures were compared to those from 1996.

"Sparrows seem to be doing quite well in Hereford and Worcester," said RSPB public affairs officer Andy Waters.

"There were four per garden in 1996 and there are now five per garden. They are bucking the trend."

But starlings have fallen from five per garden six years ago to two this year.

The fate of both birds nationally is causing great concern, as is that of others such as yellowhammers and lesser spotted woodpeckers.

"While it is encouraging to see some of our rarer species doing well, reversing the declines of common species remains a key challenge for bird conservation today," said Mr Waters.