Rare birds of prey breed at Titchfield reserve for the first time in 45 years

Richard Percival 

ONE of the UK’s rarest birds of prey has returned to a Hampshire nature reserve for the first time in 45 years.

A pair of marsh harriers have bred at Titchfield Haven nature reserve having raised two chicks in reed beds there for the first time since it was established in 1972.

The pair have gradually been spending more time at the reserve near Fareham and were first spotted in early April when they were seen performing sky-dancing manoeuvres as they courted, before beginning to collect sticks for their nest.

Finally on an early, misty morning in late June, two newly fledged young were seen leaving the nest and taking to the skies before becoming fully independent several weeks later.

Rangers have said that the parents have now left, but the young can still be seen and are likely to stay for a few more weeks before migrating to Europe or North Africa for the winter and then returning to Titchfield early next spring.

Marsh Harriers were once widespread, but by the end of the 19th century, habitat loss and persecution had wiped them out.

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Birds of prey back breeding in Poole harbour

FOR the first time in 50 years a pair of marsh harriers is breeding in Poole Harbour and has produced young.

The birds of prey, the largest of the harriers and once a common site flying over the harbour, are breeding in the reed beds around the Wareham Channel.

In the 1950s the harbour boasted 60 per cent of the entire UK population of breeding Marsh Harrier but by 1963 there were none.

Extinct as a breeding bird in Dorset until 2010, a pioneer pair successfully raised young at an RSPB nature reserve in Weymouth and today the only other pair in the county are at Lodmoor.

It is thought that human intrusion, egg collecting, shooting and flooding were the main causes for their demise 50 years ago with the pesticide DDT causing the final blow.

But with careful habitat man-agement and better protection, the birds are making a remark-able comeback across the whole country and their return has been welcomed in Dorset.

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Spectacular marsh harriers nesting at nature reserve for first time

THEY are some of the most spectacular birds to watch in the country and now they are breeding at an East Yorkshire nature reserve for the first time.

Marsh harriers have been nesting at Yorkshire Water's Tophill Low reserve, near Driffield, to the delight of staff and volunteers.

Indeed, wildlife is thriving at the reserve, with only the second pair of Cetti's warblers found breeding onsite and otters bringing up a family close to the reservoir.

The exciting additions to the site's varied wildlife have been put down to the careful management of habitats at the site, which means they appeal to the rare birds and animals.

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