SATELLITE BID TO AID RARE CHICKS
Rare hen harrier chicks have been fitted with satellite tags to track them as part of efforts to protect England's most threatened bird of prey.
The four-week-old chicks are being raised on the United Utilities Bowland Estate in Lancashire, in the first successful hen harrier nest in England since 2012, the RSPB said.
Last year, hen harriers failed to nest successfully in England for the first time since the 1960s, leaving the bird on the brink of extinction in the country, the conservation charity said.
But this year the protected bird of prey, which has been subject to long term persecution, appears to be faring slightly better with three active nests in England.
Chicks produced in the other English nests, one of which is also on the United Utilities Bowland Estate, will also be tagged when they are big enough.
Government conservation agency Natural England's lead adviser for hen harriers, Stephen Murphy, who fitted the tags, said: "The lightweight tags weigh just 9.5 grams and are solar recharging, giving an operational life of at least three years.
"This is where technology can really aid conservation as there is no better way of gaining an insight into the complex dispersal of these iconic birds."
Jude Lane, the RSPB's Bowland project officer, said "Once the birds have fledged, we will be able to follow them and gain valuable information about where they hunt, roost and, with a bit of luck, breed.
"The more we can learn about these amazing birds, the more we can do to help their numbers recover."
The hen harrier was once widespread across the UK but became extinct in mainland Britain in around 1900 as a result of persecution, the RSPB said.
Changes in land use and declines in persecution allowed the bird to spread back from populations in Scottish islands, reaching England after the Second World War.
But it preys on grouse, bringing it into conflict with grouse moor managers.
A study by government scientists has suggested there is capacity for England's upland areas to support more than 300 pairs of hen harriers, but illegal persecution through shooting, trapping and disturbing nests was keeping numbers low.
The satellite tags will also provide evidence of any illegal activity against the birds. In 2012, a dead hen harrier - nicknamed Bowland Betty - that had been tagged on the estate was found in North Yorkshire, and analysis found she had been shot.
Ahead of the opening of the grouse shooting season, a series of events will be held across the English uplands on Sunday August 10 to raise awareness of the plight of the hen harrier, the RSPB said.
