Hopes for British birds of prey rose today after moorland estates across the North of England reported an encouraging number of hen harrier nests on their land.
These included six nests in Lancashire, four nests in Cumbria and two nests in Yorkshire. All were found on estates managed for red grouse.
The hen harrier, a medium-sized raptor with a grey plumage in males and a brown in females, is Britain’s most intensively persecuted bird of prey according to the RSPB.
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A male hen harrier, top, drops a rodent in mid-air to a female fen harrier, bottom
A female hen harrier pictured in full flight in San Francisco Bay
Three juvenile hen harriers raise their wings and emit a call on a grouse moor in Yorkshire
A hen harrier is fitted with a satellite tagging device on a grouse moor in Yorkshire
Although the species has been protected by law since 1952, its habit of preying on grouse has made it the target of illegal hunting on commercial grouse moors.
This, together with habitat loss, has made the species endangered in Britain, with only 617 pairs recorded in 2012, a 20 per cent fall since 2004.
More recently, however, the birds have enjoyed a resurgence, with successful nests increasing by 100 per cent since 2015.
While males are a pale grey colour, females and juveniles are brown with a white rump and a long, barred tail which earned them the name ‘ringtail’.
They fly with wings held in a shallow ‘V’, gliding low in search of food, which mainly consists of meadow pipits and voles.
The Orkney population is famous for being polygynous, with males sometimes mating with multiple females on the island.
The dozen nests reported so far this year already matches the total number of successful nests in 2019 – which was in itself a record-breaking year, with 47 chicks fledging from 12 nests, the majority on grouse moors.
A hen harrier pictured in its natural habitat as the birds enjoy a resurgence in Britain
A camera catches the moment a magnificent adult hen harrier lands on a perch in Cumbria
A female hen harrier pictured on the wing above the Norfolk coast in Britain
Amanda Anderson, who is the Director of the Moorland Association
Amanda Anderson, Director of the Moorland Association, said:
‘This is very encouraging news and further evidence that birds of prey are welcome on land managed for grouse shooting by our members.
‘We obviously have to wait to see how many of the chicks fledge successfully, but the signs are promising that 2020 will be another good year for hen harrier breeding.
‘It is heartening to see the bird doing better in the north of England with the help of gamekeepers protecting it from predators and encouraging a healthy habitat teaming with prey species.
‘Whilst there is a long way to go, we believe we are on the right track as we try to rebuild the harrier population.’
The government-led joint action plan to aid hen harrier recovery has led to 99 chicks since 2016 thanks to partnership collaboration, with 81 of those chicks fledging in the last two years since an innovative Brood Management Trial was launched.
Hen harriers are notoriously poor survivors in the first year, with natural mortality affecting at least half of the birds.
Satellite tagging of birds has enabled scientist to understand their movements after they leave the moors, with extraordinary journeys recorded to Spain and France.
Of the birds tagged last year in Britain, 12 are alive or presumed alive, six are dead or presumed dead, and the fate of five is unknown.
Persecution of some of the birds whose fate is unknown has been alleged but not established.
Moorland Association members are passionate in their care for 860,000 acres of heather moorland in England and Wales for wild red grouse, spending £52.5 million a year on these iconic, fragile landscapes.
Britain has around 75 per cent of Europe’s upland heather moorland which is treasured by millions of walkers and wildlife enthusiasts and is said to be rarer than rainforest.