England’s hen harrier reaches new low - Just 4 pairs

The hen harrier. Picture: Andy Hay / RSPB

Lowest population in England since the Sixites

December 2011: The hen harrier is the bird most likely to become extinct in England because of human pressure, says the RSPB.

A 2011 joint survey of the English uplands by the RSPB and Natural England found that only four nesting pairs of hen harrier successfully raised young; all on a single estate in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire. This is believed to be the lowest population in England since they recolonised in the Sixties following extinction in the late 19th Century. Historically, the hen harrier was widespread in England .

Formerly widespread in the UK
A government-backed report – the Hen Harrier Conservation Framework  – proved that illegal persecution on driven-grouse moors is the main factor restricting the growth of the hen harrier population in the UK. The framework reported that England 's uplands could support at least 320 pairs of this bird of prey.

Hen harriers disappearing from England for a second time will see the government break its recent commitment in the revised England Biodiversity Strategy to avoid any human-induced extinctions before 2020.

Hen harriers were formerly widespread in the UK , but persecution forced the mainland extinction of the hen harrier in Britain and by 1900 it was confined in the UK to Orkney and the Western Isles of Scotland.

In the Forties, it recolonised mainland Britain, and two decades later it recolonised England .

The Government is about to break its promise
Hen harriers sometimes prey on red grouse on upland shooting estates, making them unpopular on many grouse moors. Given the bird's potential for extinction in England, the RSPB and Natural England are appealing to grouse moor owners to support techniques being trialed to reduce predatory impacts on grouse from harriers. 

A project at Langholm Moor, in the Scottish Borders, is looking at the effectiveness of a measure known as ‘diversionary feeding', where an alternative food supply is left for the harriers, so that the birds have a source of food and won't be tempted to take red grouse chicks. Early results look promising, enabling the birds to nest successfully without causing alarm to grouse moor owners and managers.

The RSPB's conservation director, Martin Harper, said: ‘With only four pairs of hen harrier in England, this bird only has four steps before extinction and the Government has very little time to act to prevent breaking their promise.

‘We believe the potential for diversionary feeding will provide a lifeline for the recovery of the English hen harrier and a way for grouse moor managers to maximise the number of grouse.'