Peregrine falcons have taken 30 years to recover from the devastating effects of pesticide poisoning and yet they are still targeted by individuals with a grudge against them.

How could any right-thinking human hold a grudge against a threatened species of bird?

Their enemies are said to range from rogue elements in the pigeon-racing and game-shooting communities to those individuals intent on taking eggs and chicks for falconry.

The conflict with land managed for the shooting of game birds remains the main problem for birds of prey, but this is mainly confined to the upland grouse-shooting estates in northern England and Scotland.

The main birds of prey affected are: golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, hen harrier, goshawk, peregrine and red kite.

According to the most recent statistics, there were nearly 400 bird-of-prey prosecutions in the UK in 2009, with 57 confirmed incidents in Devon and Cornwall.

Most birds of prey are now recovering, assisted by the Government, which has made the persecution of birds of prey one of the UK's wildlife crime priorities.

Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's conservation director, is right when he says wildlife crimes are "an abhorrent feature of our countryside".

"And for the sake of eagles, kites, harriers, buzzards, falcons and ospreys we have to take more action to consign these crimes to history. Over time, egg collecting has diminished, but the killing of birds of prey is as big a threat today as it was two decades ago."

Maybe the time has come to add peregrines to the priority list.

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At £500,000, the Nowhereisland project seems excessively costly to the taxpayer.

The floating artwork is made from rocks exposed by a retreating Norwegian glacier and is designed to impart a potent message about climate change.

The idea is that it will be towed into South West harbours during the Olympics and engage more than half a million people, including schoolchildren, in the global warming debate.

It is one of 12 arts projects chosen nationally to represent each of the UK regions as part of the Cultural Olympiad to run alongside the sporting events, but Geoffrey Cox MP believes it is not money well spent and the Arts Council which funded it should have invested more wisely in local projects.

Fair comment; it is difficult and subjective to justify expensive art projects at the best of times and always at a time of severe recession. But it is a local project and does involve local individuals, such as the creator Alex Hartley, from Dunkeswell, near Honiton, who beat off countrywide competition to win the £500,000 commission. And on board with him are a number of participating artists and campaigners from the region.

If the project is a success, it could be the case that its message is priceless.

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