Hen harriers: Hopes rise for future of UK's most persecuted bird after best breeding year in decades

In the face of ongoing raptor persecution across the UK, a hen harrier recovery project established in 2002 has recorded its best year to date, with 60 of the birds fledging from 19 nests across the north of England.

The bird, also known as the ‘sky dancer’ because of its aerial gymnastics is one of the rarest breeding birds in the country due to raptor persecution - largely by gamekeepers protecting grouse moors - which wiped out the species in the UK during the Victorian period.

Raptor persecution was made illegal in 1954, but has been continuing nonetheless.

Natural England said the chicks fledged from nests across Northumberland, the Yorkshire Dales, Cumbria and Lancashire in early summer 2020, and put the success down to factors including high numbers of voles, which are a key food source for the birds, and good weather.

Tony Juniper, Chairman of Natural England, said: “2020 has seen the best breeding season for England’s hen harriers in years and I thank all those who’ve helped achieve this wonderful result, including landowners and managers, campaigners, conservation groups, police officers and our own Natural England staff and volunteers.

“Despite the great progress there is though no cause for complacency. Too many birds still go missing in unexplained circumstances and I urge anyone who is still engaged in the persecution of these magnificent creatures to cease at once.

“Hen harriers remain critically endangered in England and there is a long way to go before the population returns to what it should be.”

This year’s success means 141 hen harrier chicks have fledged over the past three years.

Natural England’s Hen Harrier Recovery Project was established in 2002 to monitor hen harriers and work towards improving their numbers in England.

Despite the apparent success, the RSPB said the numbers represented a “painfully slow” recovery for the species in the midst of ongoing persecution.

A statement from the organisation was conspicuously absent from a government press release on the latest recovery project, but in an email to The Independent, Mark Thomas, the RSPB’s head of investigations said, though the news was “encouraging”, the reality was that many of the young chicks remain at risk of being illegally killed.

“The news that 60 hen harrier chicks have fledged in England this year is encouraging, and testament to the crucial monitoring from raptor workers,” he said.

“While 24 nests monitored is an improvement on the 7 nests in 2017, there is enough habitat and prey to support more than 12 times this year’s total.

“The science is clear that illegal persecution remains the most serious threat to this species - since 2018, 43 hen harriers are known to have been killed or ‘gone missing’, after fledging.

“The sad reality for those who passionately protect these birds is that some of this years’ fledglings risk being killed. If this painfully slow recovery is to gather pace, and these beautiful birds are to become as common across our landscapes as they should be, the illegal persecution must stop.”

Earlier this year the RSPB was accused of “undermining” efforts to reintroduce hen harriers to the south of the UK, which it denied, but Martin Harper, RSPB director of conservation, told The Times in July: “It would be wrong for us to support the reintroduction scheme until the main reason for harrier declines - illegal killing - stops.”

The RSPB has also reportedly resisted the government’s “brood management” scheme in which hen harrier nests are moved off grouse moors.

According to Defra, a “high proportion” of this year’s fledglings have been fitted with satellite tags, which will allow Natural England to monitor the progress of the birds as they move away from their nest areas. It will also reveal where they have been killed or mysteriously disappear.

Scientific evidence and the government’s own research show that raptors face a high risk of persecution on driven grouse moors. Many grouse estates see birds of prey as a threat to their stocks of red grouse, which are managed in large numbers to be shot by paying customers.

Over 87 birds were illegally killed in 2018, with just one conviction, and the vast majority of incidents have occurred over grouse moors.

Use of poison and illegal traps remain common in some places, despite signs of improvement elsewhere.

The RSPB is calling for the introduction of licenses for grouse shooting, which can be revoked in the case of evidence of criminal activity against protected species.

“We now need strong and meaningful deterrents to such abhorrent crimes,” the organisation said this summer.

Although persecution is thought to be the main factor limiting hen harrier numbers in England, other factors including the suitability of local habitats and food availability are also significant in some areas.

Natural England is involved in a number of initiatives to help ensure hen harriers recover including through Defra’s hen harrier joint action plan.

These include:

Dr Adam Smith of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), admitted there has been “very real tension between harrier conservation and grouse shooting,” but said the current project could represent a “real breakthrough”.

He said: “This is a very promising result for a pragmatic conservation project. Management options for bird of prey conservation rather than just legal enforcement is a very forward thinking approach. The GWCT has studied the very real tension between harrier conservation and grouse shooting for over 30 years. Until this managed approach was adopted - at no small risk to the reputations of all involved - there was a damaging deadlock.

“If this trend can be maintained and hen harrier conservation status further improved, whilst supporting the red grouse management that best delivers our unique heather uplands, it will be a real breakthrough for practical, working conservation.”

Amanda Anderson, director of the Moorland Association, also sought to cast grouse moors in a positive light.

The government press release quoted her as saying: “Yet again, it has been a fantastic year for hen harriers and we have now seen significant increases in successful nests and chick numbers for three years running as part of the Hen Harrier Recovery Plan which includes the innovative brood management scheme trial.

“Twelve of the nests reported today are on land managed for grouse shooting and this reflects a genuine commitment from moor owners and managers to work with others and help rebuild the harrier population.”

Every year hundreds of thousands of animals are legally killed to protect stocks of grouse, including badgers, foxes, stoats, weasels, and crows, among others.

Meanwhile scores of birds are illegally killed. This year species including golden eagles, goshawks, hen harriers and white-tailed eagles have been among the species known to have died on grouse moors in the UK.

Furthermore the heather the grouse nest in has traditionally been burnt - which helps to reveal young green shoots for the grouse to feed on, but has been found to degrade peatland habitats, releases dangerous greenhouse gases, reduces biodiversity and increases flood risk. This practice has now been banned in some parts of northern England.