…with apologies to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the post title. But surely this is a mystery which can only be solved by Sherlock Holmes? An endangered red kite is found dead beneath an environmentally friendly windmill and yet its death is a mystery.

The carcass of the rare red kite was discovered at the Fairburn wind farm in Ross-shire. It was examined by a Scottish Agricultural College vet and was found to have suffered bruising and fractures consistent with an impact.

Not to worry, the authorities are on top of the case:

A SSE [Scottish and Southern Energy] spokeswoman said last night: “As soon as we were aware of this incident we notified the authorities, including the RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]. Since then we have been carrying out extensive investigations into what caused the death of this red kite and how it ended up at the bottom of one of the turbines. These investigations are still ongoing.”

Despite the windmill being guaranteed as “harmless to wildlife” by the same bureaucrats who tell us these hideous monstrosities can generate electricity efficiently, Aedán Smith of the RSPB believes he’s found the culprit – and the solution:

“Evidence suggests that the kite is most likely to have been killed by collision with a turbine. … We will continue to work closely with SSE and others to find ways of reducing the risk to red kites and other birds from wind farms still further. I hope that we will also be able to secure additional funding to help this threatened species.”

So the way to “do something“, which is inevitably the cry these days, is “additional funding“, which – like Romeo and Juliet, Fred and Ginger, Sooty and Sweep – is the traditional accompanying phrase.

The fact is that if you build windmills, this happens. As this vulture finds out. Ouch…

Hat-tip to Moonbattery