Manx hen harrier 'Mary' poisoned by laced bait and found dead in Eire

Friday, 7 February 2020 - Environment


Hen Harrier Mary as a nestling (RSPB and Manx BirdLife)

A hen harrier born in the Isle of Man in the summer of 2019, has been found dead beside baits laced with poison in the Republic of Ireland.

Mary was part of the satellite-tagging project led by RSPB’s Hen Harrier LIFE+ Project team which is coordinated in the island by Manx Birdlife and the Manx Ringing Group (MRG).

Tags attached to the birds enable their whereabouts to be tracked, providing insights to the behaviour and population dynamics of the persecuted birds of prey.

After fledging last year, Mary spent a few weeks exploring the island, flying to and from the Calf of Man where she was pictured by warden Aron Sapsford, at the end of August.

By the end of October, satellite data revealed she had flown from the Isle of Man across the Irish Sea to Eire.

Sadly, soon afterwards on November 2, Mary’s satellite tag indicated that she had died.

Continued

RSPB Scotland probes lonely death of hen harrier Rannoch

 by Jamie Buchan

 June 27 2019, 11.34am

A hen harrier that was being tracked by a leading bird welfare charity has been found dead in an illegal trap on a Perthshire moor.

The young female, named Rannoch, was said to have suffered “significantly” before she died in the open spring snare.

Rannoch had been fitted with a satellite tag by RSPB Scotland, as part of the organisation’s Hen Harrier LIFE conservation programme.

Her movements had been closely followed by the charity until November when she stopped moving in an area of moorland between Crieff and Aberfeldy.

The solar-powered tag battery had drained before accurate information could be gathered to find her. When the tag came back online in May, RSPB Scotland was able to get enough data to track down her remains.

A post mortem report from the SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) veterinary laboratory states: “The bird was trapped by the left leg in a spring trap at time of death.

“Death will have been due to a combination of shock and blood loss, if it died quickly or to exposure and dehydration/starvation if it died slowly.

“Either way the bird will have experienced significant unnecessary suffering.”

Dr Cathleen Thomas, project manager for Hen Harrier LIFE said: “We are absolutely devastated that Rannoch has been a victim of crime. The life of this beautiful bird was cut short in the most horrific way due to human actions.

“Satellite tagging has revealed the amazing journeys made by hen harriers, but also uncovers who their journeys end.”

She said: “Often the birds disappear with their tags suddenly ceasing to function as perpetrators go to great lengths to hide the evidence of their crimes.

“Rannoch’s death in a spring trap is evidence of one way in which these birds are being killed.”

She said, in terms of population size, hen harriers are now the most persecuted bird of prey in the UK and numbers are now “perilously” low.

“Every loss we suffer impacts the continued survival of the species.”

Continued

Hen harrier chicks to be reared in captivity to placate grouse moor owners

‘Brood management’ trial criticised for failing to tackle persecution of bird of prey

Patrick Barkham

Thu 6 Jun 2019 11.30 BSTLast modified on Thu 6 Jun 2019 13.46 BST

Hen harrier chicks will be removed from their parents and reared in captivity this summer in a controversial “brood management” scheme to placate grouse moor owners.

Removing young hen harriers from nests on grouse moors is designed to prevent concentrations of the bird of prey on grouse shooting estates. Stopping hen harriers from feeding on young grouse is designed to reduce the illegal killing of the species, which is on the brink of extinction as a breeding bird in England.

Last summer was the bird’s most successful breeding season for more than a decade with 34 chicks fledged from nine nests across northern England.

Natural England, the government’s conservation watchdog, announced its brood management scheme would begin this summer with “active” hen harrier nests meeting the criteria for chick removal and landowners willing to be part of the trial.

The chicks would be raised in captivity and then released into suitable habitat away from grouse moors. The hen harrier tends to nest in clusters and proponents of the scheme argued that brood management provided reassurance to grouse moor owners that concentrations of hen harriers would not build up on their moors, predating grouse populations. This, it has been argued, would stop gamekeepers and others illegally killing the bird.

Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, said: “Conservation and protection of the hen harrier is at the heart of what we are doing in licensing this trial of brood management. This decision takes forward but one element in a far broader recovery strategy for the species.

“Natural England is ready to take the next careful step, aware that the licensed activity and the research will rightly come under close scrutiny from the scientists on the advisory group, from ourselves as the licensing authority and by those both supportive of and opposed to this trial.

“We, as an organisation, must pursue all options for an important bird such as the hen harrier, so that our children may enjoy this majestic species in the wild.”

Read on

Tagged hen harrier disappears on South Lanarkshire moor

7 May 2019

A young hen harrier fitted with a satellite transmitter has disappeared on a moor in South Lanarkshire.

RSPB Scotland said the bird of prey was the latest to have gone missing in suspicious circumstances in a "black hole" area of countryside.

The female harrier, named Skylar, was being monitored by the RSPB near a grouse moor south of the village of Elvanfoot.

Its tag abruptly stopped working on 7 February.

The RSPB's Dr Cathleeen Thomas said the disappearance in an area where birds of prey have previously been illegally killed followed a "depressingly familiar pattern".

She added: "Her tag was working as expected, then suddenly stopped. There have been no further transmissions, and the bird's body has not been located.

"Had she died of natural causes, we would have expected the transmitter to continue working, allowing us to recover her body. Sadly, we'll probably never know exactly what has happened to Skylar."

In 2017, a hen harrier and short-eared owl were shot and killed on a grouse moor a few miles away from Skylar's last known location.

Three more tagged hen harriers vanished in the area between June 2014 and May 2016.

Skylar was fitted with a satellite tag in July 2017 just before she fledged from her nest in Argyll.

Read more

Hen Harrier 'disappears' near proposed reintroduction site in Wiltshire

A young male Hen Harrier from Northumberland has disappeared in suspicious circumstances in Wiltshire, south west England.

The harrier, named Vulcan, was one of 11 chicks to fledge from nests in Northumberland last summer, which were being protected by the Northumberland Hen Harrier Protection Partnership. He was fitted with a satellite tag as part of the RSPB’s EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE project, which enabled the nature conservation charity to track his movements.

Vulcan is the second satellite-tagged Hen Harrier from Northumberland to disappear since last summer. In August 2018, female Hen Harrier Athena vanished in suspicious circumstances in Inverness-shire.

Vulcan was tracked by the RSPB moving from Northumberland down to the Peak District where he remained throughout September. He then continued to head further south through Hampshire and Dorset. On 16 January 2019, Vulcan’s tag sent out its final transmission, from a location south of the village of Calstone Wellington, in Wiltshire.

RSPB Investigations staff searched the area, which is farmland and heavily managed for pheasant and partridge shooting, but there was no sign of Vulcan or his tag. He has not been heard from since and the matter was reported to Wiltshire Police.

Satellite tagging technology is commonly used to follow the movements of birds. Tags continue to transmit regularly, even when the bird dies, and until the tag reaches the end of its lifespan. Vulcan’s tag was providing regular updates on the bird’s location, so the sudden and unexpected ending of transmission is suspicious and could suggest criminal interference. Vulcan is the 11th satellite-tagged Hen Harrier to disappear since last summer.

Hen Harriers are one of the UK’s rarest birds of prey with only nine successful nests recorded in England in 2018 despite sufficient habitat for over 300 pairs. An overwhelming body of scientific evidence suggests that the main reason for their low numbers is illegal killing associated with driven grouse shooting.

1st March

Continued

‘Persecuted’ hen harrier found alive and well

30 JAN

A hen harrier that Scottish antis said had been killed by gamekeepers was found alive and well last week.

Now gamekeepers want a crackdown on satellite tagging after the RSPB spotted the bird in Perthshire.

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the RSPB said nothing about spotting it alive, even though the organisation made a great deal of eporting its apparent disappearance in 2018.

In addition, a farmer found a dead sea eagle with a tag that had failed several weeks previously and was already on a list of birds “Missing believed persecuted”.

The Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association now wants the satellite tagging of birds to be licensed by the Scottish Government and some gamekeepers claim that cumbersome tags are what are killing hen harriers.

Source

Bird of prey disappears in suspicious circumstances

Published by Minster FM News at 1:31pm 21st January 2019.

The police and the RSPB are investigating the sudden disappearance of yet another satellite tagged hen harrier in North Yorkshire, the county with the worst reputation for bird of prey persecution.

The bird, named River, was one of several hen harrier chicks in England fitted with a satellite tag as part of the RSPB’s Hen Harrier LIFE project last summer.

These lightweight tags allow the RSPB to monitor the birds after they fledge.

Her tag’s last known transmission came from a driven grouse moor between Colsterdale and Nidderdale – an area with a history of bird of prey persecution – on 14 November.

She was known to have been hunting and roosting in the area for several weeks. RSPB Investigations staff and North Yorkshire Police searched the area, but there was no sign of the bird or the tag. She has not been heard from since.

All birds of prey are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. To kill or injure one is a criminal offence and could result in an unlimited fine or up to six months in jail. North Yorkshire Police investigated the disappearance, but no information has been forthcoming.

Hen harriers are rare birds which nest in moorland, especially in the uplands of Northern England and Scotland. However just nine nests were recorded in England last year, despite enough prey and habitat to support over 300 pairs. They have not successfully bred in North Yorkshire since 2007.

Over 30 hen harriers were tagged last summer in the UK. Between August and November 2018, nine of these, including a 10th bird tagged in 2017, disappeared at different locations in the UK.

Continued

Hen harrier feared to have been deliberately killed

13 November 2018

A rare hen harrier has disappeared in North Yorkshire, prompting fears it may have been deliberately killed.

The bird of prey was fitted with a satellite tag after hatching in the Peak District in the summer.

It was in the North York Moors National Park on 26 October when the signal was lost.

The bird, named Arthur, is the ninth hen harrier to disappear in suspicious circumstances in the last 12 weeks, according to RSPB records.

The charity had been monitoring Arthur's movements as he flew from the Brecon Beacons in South Wales to Nidderdale.

The bird's last registered location was north of Lowna Bridge, near Hutton-le-Hole, with no body or tracking tag recovered.

More than 30 hen harriers have been tagged in England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man in 2018 by the RSPB.

Despite being protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, numbers of hen harriers remain consistently low, a spokesperson for the charity said.

Sgt Kevin Kelly, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "This is an unwanted addition to the already concerning and ever-raising numbers of hen harriers that are just 'vanishing'.

"I encourage any information that could help me forward this investigation, these rare birds are one of the jewels in the crown of the English countryside."

In recent months, satellite-tagged hen harriers have also vanished suddenly in the Peak District, north and central Scotland, north Wales and Northumberland.

Continued  

Investigation launched after hen harrier disappears without trace from moorland

Published: 11:05 Thursday 18 October 2018

A rare hen harrier has mysteriously disappeared from moorland in Lancashire prompting a police and RSPB investigation. The bird, called Thor, was last monitored on October 3 at Goodber Common, near Salter in Lancashire. Read more: Poignant video of toddler just days before she died in 'cage' bed He was being monitored by RSPB officers using a lightweight satellite tag, which had tracked his movements since fledging.

But his tag suddenly stopped transmitting earlier this month in an area close to a managed driven grouse moor. The Every Mind Matters guide Get expert advice on how to look after your mental health with this free guide from the NHS. Promoted by Public Health England Earlier, conservation officers had monitored his movements, watching him stay close to the Forest of Bowland where he had hatched in the summer. James Bray, RSPB’s Bowland project officer, was involved in monitoring the nests in Bowland over the summer.

He said: “Whilst we know that hen harrier mortality rates are high for young birds, if Thor had died naturally we would expect to find either his body or his tag – or both. "His tag was functioning well before he disappeared, which sadly suggests there has been some kind of interference with it.”

Read more at: 

Protection of rare bird of prey could halt Donegal wind farm

Irish Raptor Study Group seeking High Court order quashing decision to grant permission

Wed, Sep 19, 2018, 15:34

Ray Managh

The protection of one of Ireland’s rarest birds of prey could potentially stop the multi-million-euro development of a wind farm in Meenbog, Co Donegal.

The Irish Raptor Study Group, a voluntary organisation committed to the monitoring for conservation purposes of birds of prey, particularly the Hen Harrier and Buzzard throughout Ireland, has been granted leave to legally challenge An Board Pleanála’s approval of the development.

Mr Justice David Barniville said in the High Court Wednesday that on October 25th he would consider setting a date for a judicial review and directed that all parties have relevant documentation lodged in court by October 19th.

Barrister David Browne, who appeared with Fred Logue of FP Logue Solicitors for the Study Group, told the court his client was seeking an order quashing the planning board’s decision of June 25th last granting the developer Planree Limited planning permission.

Although the main thrust of the proceedings is against An Bord Pleanála the developer and Donegal County Council have been joined as notice parties.

Ryan Wilson-Parr, of Gleann Alainn, Drogheda, Co Louth, who is chairman of the bird protection group, claims the planning permission is contrary to the European Birds Directive and to the Planning and Development Act.

Continued

‘Exceptional’ rare bird of prey footage captured at Scots hen harrier nests

5th September

By Nan Spowart Journalist

BEHAVIOUR never seen before in a rare bird of prey has been recorded by cameras in a Scottish conservation project.

The “exceptional” footage shows male hen harriers standing guard over nests and a hen harrier brood being hunted by two species of owl.

Conservationists say the pictures tell an amazing story that shows the kind of hurdles hen harrier chicks – the species nests on the ground – have to overcome to survive.

The discoveries were made as part of Heads Up for Harriers, a Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime Scotland (PAW) project, led by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

Figures released today also show 30 young birds have successfully fledged on participating estates.

On two occasions, a male harrier was recorded spending up to 35 minutes standing over or beside a nest, guarding the chicks when the female harrier was away.

This is believed to be highly unusual harrier behaviour as the only time a mother usually leaves a nest for the first six weeks is to briefly catch a food drop from the father to feed the chicks.

The footage has also captured a hectic night of activity involving a fox and a short-eared owl which ended with five chicks being killed by another owl.

According to the pictures from the nest camera, the mother spent eight days taking care of her five newly-hatched chicks, until she was scared off the nest by a fox. The unattended chicks were then surveyed first by a short-eared owl before being killed by a long-eared owl.

Read on  

Return of strip-field farming creates haven for rare species in south Wales

National Trust trial of 13th century method used until 1940s transforms stretch of Gower peninsula coast

Steven Morris

Wed 29 Aug 2018 18.00 BSTLast modified on Wed 29 Aug 2018 21.02 BST

A pioneering farming project using field management techniques dating back to the 13th century has transformed a stretch of coast into a haven for endangered animals, birds, insects and wildflowers.

The experimental return to “strip-field farming” close to the spectacular Rhossili Bay on the Gower peninsula in south Wales is being credited with a threefold increase in the number of species of wildflowers and the appearance of rare birds such as the hen harrier and grasshopper warbler.

As many as 63 butterflies were spotted in 60 seconds in one of the strip fields at the Vile, compared with a maximum of six in neighbouring pastures that are farmed conventionally.

The Vile, which is old English for strip fields, was farmed in the old-fashioned way until the late 1940s. Shortages then led to the intensification of agriculture across the UK including, to a more limited extent, the Vile.

The National Trust, which owns around three-quarters of the 111 acre site, launched a project to wholly restore the strip fields two years ago. Rangers and 80 volunteers have created 2,000 metres of banks and hedges that had been removed to satisfy the demands of heavily mechanised farming, turning six fields into a patchwork of 17 different areas. The plots rejoice in names such as Bramble Bush, Sandyland and Priest Hay.

Continued  

Hen Harriers breed in Bowland

07/06/2018

Hen Harrier has bred in Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, for the first time since 2015.

RSPB wardens discovered two Hen Harrier nests on the United Utilities Bowland Estate in early spring and have been monitoring them closely ever since. The nests were visited recently by the wardens under licence, who were delighted to find four healthy chicks in each of them. A single male harrier has fathered young at both nests and is now regularly taking food to each.

The good news makes a welcome change to the procession of reports of satellite-tagged Hen Harriers either killed or disappearing in unexplained circumstances.

Hen Harrier remains on the verge of extinction as a breeding bird in England owing to the continuous illegal persecution of the species associated with driven grouse shooting. Although experts estimate there is sufficient habitat for at least 300 pairs across northern England, last year there were only three successful nests in the whole country. Bowland used to be known as England's last remaining stronghold for breeding Hen Harriers, but both 2016 and 2017 proved blank years after just a single chick fledged in 2015.

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Hen harrier 'brood management' plan faces crowdfunded legal challenge

Campaign against plan to remove chicks from their nests and rear them in captivity raises £25,000 in four days

Patrick Barkham

Mon 16 Apr 2018 06.01 BST

A controversial plan to remove the chicks of endangered birds from their nests and rear them in captivity could be challenged in the high court after a crowdfunded campaign raised £25,000 in four days.

Wildlife campaigner and author Mark Avery is leading an application for a judicial review of the hen harrier “brood management” plan, in which chicks will be raised in captivity and released into the wild.

Conservationists blame the grouse moor industry for the virtual absence of hen harriers from uplands in England – there were four nests in 2016 – which government scientists calculated would naturally support more than 300 pairs of the bird.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plan, which is licensed by Natural England, the government’s wildlife watchdog, is designed to stop the illegal persecution of the legally protected bird of prey but critics say it instead rewards the owners of grouse moors. Removing the chicks from moorland prevents the parent birds from predating so many of the red grouse which generate a lucrative grouse-shooting business.

“It’s difficult to see how hen harriers benefit from this plan,” said Avery. “They are taken into captivity and released back into the places from which they are taken, where they will be killed in the way that they would have been if they hadn’t been taken into captivity.

Read more 

Hunt widens for rare Hen Harrier after she vanishes from Ruabon moor in 'suspicious circumstances'

Police and RSPB investigators are hunting for signs of Aalin, a rare Hen Harrier whose satellite tag stopped transmitting last month

Andrew Forgrave Rural Affairs Editor

14:31, 21 MAR 2018

UPDATED14:46, 21 MAR 2018

Bird investigators have been joined by police officers in the search for a rare hen harrier that has gone missing near Wrexham .

No tag or body was found after the bird’s satellite tag “unexpectedly” stopped transmitting at 10.34am on February 9.

RSPB Cymru staff have since swept the area of moorland around Ruabon Mountain, from where the last signal was sent.

The harrier, named Aalin, was tagged as part of the RSPB’s EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE+ project.

The bird charity had high hopes she would rear chicks this summer and so boost the tiny population of hen harriers in North Wales.

Project manager Dr Cathleen Thomas said Aalin’s disappearance was “suspicious”.

 “It’s incredibly disappointing to lose yet another hen harrier in these circumstances, especially as this bird is so scarce in the UK,” she said.

“It’s also the first suspicious loss of a bird in Wales for our project, after the elation of tagging our first chicks there in 2017.

Continued  

Rare hen harrier ‘Marc’ goes missing

By Crime Reporter on 01/03/2018 at 12:35pm

Durham Constabulary and the RSPB are appealing for information following the disappearance of a satellite-tagged hen harrier near Middleton-in-Teesdale.

The harrier, named Marc, was one of a nest of two chicks tagged as part of the EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE+ project in July this year from a nest in the Scottish Borders.

Marc’s tag had been transmitting regularly, showing no signs of any problems, until it suddenly stopped on the afternoon of 5 February. Data from Marc’s tag indicated he had been in the same area of upland farmland since late November before moving 10km North West on 27 January to an area of driven grouse moor, from here he posted several positions on the 5 February until 2.04pm, after which the tag inexplicably failed to send any further data.

Read more  

Second hen harrier disappearance 'devastates' RSPB

4 March 2018

The disappearance of two tagged hen harriers from northern England could threaten the survival of the species, experts say.

Siblings Manu and Marc were fitted with satellite tags after being born in the Scottish Borders last year.

They fledged to northern England, where Manu's tag stopped transmitting in October. Marc's ceased on 5 February.

The RSPB described their disappearance as "absolutely devastating".

Both birds were tagged as part of an EU-funded monitoring programme.

'Vanishing population'

Manu had settled on the Northumberland Cumbria border and Marc near Middleton-in-Teesdale in County Durham.

The latter's tag stopped transmitting over a grouse moor. No damaged tags or remains of the protected birds have been found.

Read on  

Ireland's dead forests: graveyards of the Hen Harrier

Irish Government’s forestry strategy threatens to wipe out the Hen Harrier

Ireland is the most westerly outpost of the Hen Harrier’s global range. The species is in big trouble here and has been falling towards extinction as its habitat is being lost majorly by conversion to industrial forestry. If the Hen Harrier is lost from this frontier due to habitat loss, it will not return nor cannot it be re-introduced for that very reason – there will be no habitat.

There are already approximately 220 million non-native trees, covering more than half of the land within Special Protection Areas that are supposed to be the last bastion of Hen Harrier conservation in Ireland. These areas are designated in line with the EU birds directive and national law and within these areas, member states are supposed to “avoid pollution or deterioration of habitats…”.

Not many Rare Bird Alert readers will need this, but a quick science lesson: Hen Harriers, as with other harrier species, evolved in virtually treeless landscapes. Harriers are birds of open country – steppe, prairie, mountain, swamp, moorland. This is why they nest on the ground. The exception to this rule for Hen Harriers as it happens came in Ireland, where for a number of years Don Scott observed harriers nesting on the tops of stunted trees. This soon came to an end however, ultimately proving to be maladaptive, as when the young harriers fell from the trees and were hidden beneath the canopy, they could not be fed or rescued by their parents. Suffice it to say that Hen Harriers and industrial plantation forestry dominated by non-native sitka spruce do not mix well. Some private foresters with financial interests in planting more land will tell you otherwise, in the same way as chemical companies told us DDT was not reducing raptor populations for decades. However, as with DDT, there are volumes of scientific studies and evidence from the field as to who the silent killer is. Truth always wins out.

Read on  

Appeal after rare bird of prey goes missing from Cumbria

The bird had been satellite-tagged as part of a protection project

Police and the RSPB are appealing for information following the disappearance of a satellite-tagged bird of prey in Cumbria.

The hen harrier, named Manu, was one of a nest of two chicks monitored and protected by the Northumberland Hen Harrier Protection Partnership and tagged as part of the RSPB’s EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE+ project in July this year.

Manu’s tag had been functioning perfectly until it suddenly stopped on the morning of October 18.

Data from Manu’s tag indicated he had been in the same location near Denton Fell, on the Cumbria/Northumberland border, for around three weeks.

However, the last signal was sent from Blenkinsopp Common, east of Brampton, shortly before 10am and he has not been seen or heard of since.

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Fifth satellite-tracked bird of prey vanishes in Highlands

Chris Foote 10 hours ago 

The young hen harrier's tag stopped responding on the border of the Cairngorms National Park.

A satellite-tracked bird of prey has vanished in the Highlands for the fifth time this year.

The young hen harrier's tag stopped responding on the western border of the Cairngorms National Park last month.

It follows the disappearance of another harrier on August 3 and the loss of three golden eagles in the nearby Monadhliath mountains.

Brian, who went missing on August 22, was last seen a few miles from Kingussie and his body has not been found.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said there was no sign of any problems with his tracker before it went silent.

A spokeswoman for the animal charity said: "Brian was tagged on July 4 on an estate in Perthshire within the Cairngorms National Park.

"He fledged from the nest and stayed close to the nest site until the beginning of August when he moved north into southern Inverness-shire.

"Brian then spent the next few weeks over various areas of managed grouse moor within the National Park with frequent strong, clear transmissions from his tag providing detailed information about his daily travels.

Continued