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 

Illegal bird traps discovered on Deeside grouse moor

Posted on: 22 Jul 2016

RSPB Scotland has appealed for information following the discovery of illegally-set spring traps in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, one of which held a badly injured Common Gull.

The conservation organisation has commended the actions of two members of the public who alerted it to the distressed bird which was caught in a trap they came across while out walking, but it is disappointed that, as with many wildlife crimes, the perpetrators have yet to be identified.

During a walk down the northern slopes of Geallaig Hill, a few miles north-west of Ballater and on land managed for grouse shooting by the Invercauld Estate, on 27 June this year, two members of the public saw a Common Gull floundering on the ground. As they approached the distressed bird, they saw that it had been caught by the legs in two traps, later identified as illegally-set spring traps. Spring traps are legally used by gamekeepers to target Stoats and Weasels, when the traps are set in a tunnel with a restricted entrance to minimise the threat to other wildlife; they are not permitted to be set in the open where there is a risk to non-target species.

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