WAR has been declared on illegal egg-stealing gangs who move in on the New Forest at the height of the nesting season.

One of Britain's leading wildlife policemen, Roy Adams, is joining forces with officers from the Forest in a major vigil aimed at keeping criminals away from some of the UK's rarest birds.

PC Adams, who trains officers nationally on the methods and equipment used by the birds nest raiders, was in Hampshire as part of Operation Easter, which protects Britain's rarest species.

He said: "The New Forest and its surrounding area is an extremely important wildlife area and is home to some of Britain's rarest birds. It is Britain's most important areas for the honey buzzard - not to be confused with the common buzzard - and the hobby. There are only about 20 pairs of honey buzzards left nationally.

"Other species in the New Forest which are quite rare nationally include the nightjar, the stone curlew and the hen harrier.

"The two-week period we are just going into is also the most crucial time of the year for the nesting birds and the time when the egg thieves are most likely to hit."

He explained that egg collectors take the eggs when they are new-laid and have not lost their bright and shiny surface, sometimes burying them and returning two or three weeks later.

"When the female first lays the egg, they are very shiny, so people try to hit them as soon as they can. Once the clutch is a week to ten days old, they become dirty and lose their shine. If they take the eggs early enough, the hen will lay another clutch and they will aim to steal that as well."

PC Adams, who is employed by the Devon and Exeter force, described the operation in the Forest as a successful start, which will be followed by further covert activity in a bid to track down the illegal birds' nesters.