There are few sights more spectacular than the vision of a Red Kite soaring overhead on a glorious summer's day.

Here, in Carmarthenshire, we are blessed by the fact that such incredible aerial displays have become an everyday occurrence.

Red Kites - Milvus milvus to give them their scientific name - have become synonymous with the county as the magnificent birds of prey - which can grow to boast a wingspan of up to six-feet - flourish in the lush green Towy Valley.

But it was not always so, and the story of the Red Kites spread - and even its survival - in Wales is due to the dedication of a small number of dedicated individuals.

Red Kites were, in the late middle ages, protected by royal decree, but with the passing of the centuries they suffered sustained persecution, particularly under the Tudor Vermin Act, when a price was placed on the heads of a huge variety of British wildlife.

By the late 1800s, the Red Kite was on the brink of extinction in Great Britian, with farmers claiming the mighty birds were guilty of killing young livestock - a theory supported mostly by fear.

In later years, they were also affected by lead poisoning from the gunshot pellets they swallowed when feeding on carrion and their numbers were further reduced by collectors stealing eggs as the species became more and more rare.

However, thanks to a sustained conservation effort lasting more than a hundred years, the Red Kite is once more a familiar sight to a lucky minority of the population.

The thrill of seeing these magnificent kings of the wing is now open to everyone, simply by visiting Llanddeusant Red Kite feeding station.

The modest Pete Faulkner runs the feeding station, and visitors can watch a spectacular air show as he whips up a feeding frenzy for around 50 Red Kites every day of the year.

With little or no funding, Pete has been running the station for 12 years with feeding sessions at 3pm, 365 days a year.

It took a while however, before the Kites came to trust this generous stranger.

To begin, Pete was forced to wait patiently in a field for eight hours a day, six days a week, for six weeks before his first Red Kite appeared.

His passion for Red Kites is clear.

“I do it because I love doing it," he said.

“The breed was struggling to survive, I wanted to help in any way I could.”

The station has now reached new heights of popularity, with visitors coming from all over the world to get a glimpse of the magnificent diners.

Pete's efforts are just the latest chapter in the story of the Red Kite's survival in Wales - a story which is not simply a matter of luck.

Their modern-day success has involved considerable effort and dedication by a number of activists over the years.

Colonel H Morrey Salmon, a staunch conservationist and senior member of the Kite Committee, wrote the story of their preservation in Welsh Wildlife in Trust in 1970.

His definitive account of their recovery from near extinction, A History of the Kite, in Wales, contained detailed distribution maps of nest sites.

He presented a copy of this work to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1971, and was awarded their Gold Medal in recognition of his work and services to bird protection in Wales.

A second copy is in the safe keeping of the National Museum of Wales, and a third is held by the Nature Conservancy Council.

His son, Huw Salmon, on a recent visit to Llanddeusant, said: “This feeding station is outstanding.

“There is no doubt that my father would never have imagined seeing so many Red Kites in one area.

“He would be delighted with the situation as it stands today.”

The Red Kites survival has not been an easy road by any means.

Concerted efforts were made to protect the Red Kite population of Wales in what was to become one of the World’s longest-running species protection programmes.

In 1994 the RSPB and CCW largely withdrew from funding kite conservation in Wales and so, in 1996, the Welsh Kite Trust was set up to ensure that the success already achieved was continued.

Brought back from near extinction the number of Red Kites has now increased to the present day level of around 600 breeding pairs in Wales.

For further information about the Llanddeusant Red Kite Feeding Station call 01550 740617 or visit redkiteswales.co.uk

Feeding times are 2pm GMT and 3pm BST.

Entrance fees: Adults £3.00, OAPs £2.50, Children under 16 £1.50.