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.
