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Hen harriers could be wiped out in England
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by Amy Judd | September 11, 2008 at 09:15 am
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What used to be a fairly common bird of prey in the UK, the Hen Harriers, have had such a bad breeding season this year that they could be wiped out altogether.
They are England's most threatened bird of prey, and have been unable to hatch more than 15 nests successfully since 1994.
A monitoring programme by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Natural England found year there were just 10 nests where the chicks were successfully reared, out of 19 attempts.
Sir Martin Doughty, chair of Natural England, said the low numbers made the harriers vulnerable to extinction in England.
He said: "Small populations of species can be highly vulnerable to chance events and we cannot literally have all our eggs in one basket. If we lose the hen harrier in Bowland, we could lose it in England.
"We must have a much larger and widespread population of this fantastic upland bird."The RSPB estimate that England's uplands should be able to support 200 breeding pairs of hen harriers. In the past numbers have been controlled on moors in order to protect grouse shoots.
Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's director of conservation, said the birds should be better protected.
"There is no natural reason why hen harrier numbers are so low. If there is no illegal killing, as some grouse-shooting interests would have us believe, then where are the missing birds?
Barely any harriers bred this year in the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales or North York Moors. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is challenging upland owners in those areas to help increase the breeding population by 2010, to 40 pairs.
The bird of prey actually became extinct in the UK in Victorian times, and only came back in the 1970s.
They have been struggling ever since.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (10)
at 09:54 on September 11th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 12:40 on September 11th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. We won't mention how Prince Harry was questioned by police after two hen harriers were shot down in his vicinity - which of course he denied doing - especially with garndmother patron of the RSPB!
at 10:49 on September 12th, 2008
I have to confess that I hadn't realised just how troubled our Hen Harrier population has become. It would be a sad day indeed were we to lose the species altogether, especially in light of the solid progress in recent times of many of our other raptors.
I guess it reiterates the importance of such groups as NowPublic. Thanks for keeping me informed.
Regards Chris
Chris Hammond2008 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 10:55 on September 12th, 2008
My husband & I were out on a birding trip to the shore to view shoreline birds. We were both amazed at the way the Harrier flew looking for prey. We both watched & enjoyed it gracefullness for half an hour. The picture was taken at Hammonasett Beach, CT, USA
12-08-09.
egdc211 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 11:22 on September 12th, 2008
This hen harrier was swooping low over the reeds at Otmoor near Oxford.
Mr_Chips has contributed a photo to this story.
at 12:38 on September 12th, 2008
The highlight of any walk is to watch a Hen Harrier at work over his/her territory. How anybody could shoot or poison such birds is beyond me, all for the sake of the fake hunting that is grouse shooting. Why can't man just watch, admire and learn from nature, instead of the need to feel in control of it by killing it? These birds are the true hunters, hunting for survival, hunting to live. They deserve our protection.
The Raybons has contributed a photo to this story.
at 12:48 on September 12th, 2008
this shot was taken in the UK (suffolk)
alkandry911 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 04:10 on September 15th, 2008
amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. Thanks for bringing this to our attention Amy.
at 04:11 on September 15th, 2008
Good stuff. Thanks for posting this. Another good 'bird story'.
at 11:23 on September 17th, 2008
I took this from the landing of our house, called Le Chant d'Oiseau (Song of the bird), here in France. These magnificent creatures are regular visitors and we've been watching this breeding pair for the past two years now. If anyone's interested, (and forgives the plug), we offer holiday accommodation here where you can watch over 80 species of bird both on site here and in the immediate environ. For more, have a look at our website at www.loire-gites.com.
Keep up the good work, NowPublic!
Le Chant has contributed a photo to this story.