Black Poplar & Red Kite

Out and about between Goathland and Grosmont at the weekend and I saw a Red Kite flying towards Grosmont. Absolutely unmistakable forked tail. My first sighting of this bird on the North Yorkshire Moors.

Later whilst walking down the footpath next to Whitby hospital I noticed the Black Poplar which had been pollarded a few years ago had finally died. I've managed to get some cuttings but there's little hope of collecting any viable material from this tree, the only one in this area and there are none within the boundary of the national park. Contacting Phil Yardley the Scarborough Borough Tree officer has resulted in the promise that someone else will try and obtain some viable cuttings. But rare trees don't seem to have the same value as rare animals or birds.