Remember this video? Filmed in 2013, but only released in May this year, and it resulted in no prosecution.
Hen Harriers are killed on grouse moors because they eat Red Grouse that people want to shoot for fun.
Hen Harriers have had full legal protection since 1954 and yet the main factor determining their range and abundance in the UK is illegal persecution.
Hen Harriers ought to be a lot more numerous than they are (eg there should be hundreds of pairs nesting in England and last year there were just four pairs). Governments are not doing nearly enough to stamp out wildlife crime.
If you’d like to learn more about the Hen Harrier then keeping coming back to this blog over the next month and think of attending a Hen Harrier Day event in early August.
If you know enough already to want to help the Hen Harrier then here are some things you can do:
- join Findlay Wilde’s thunderclap on social media that will send out a message to millions of people that the Hen Harrier is a beautiful but persecuted bird that needs our help – spreading awareness of the issue helps a lot. Thank you to all who have already supported Findlay’s initiative including powerful supporters Chris Packham and Natalie Bennett of the Green Party.
- come to a Hen Harrier Day rally on 5th or 6th August to show your support for this wonderful bird and your opposition to wildlife crime. Saturday 5 August, events at Rainham Marshes RSPB nature reserve, Sheffield city centre, Loch Leven RSPB nature reserve and Glenarrif Forest Park; Sunday 6 August, events at Arne RSPB nature reserve, the Forest of Bowland, Isle of Rum and Boat of Garten. Come along to show your support with like-minded people, and why not bring a friend along to the introduce them to the subject?
- lend your copy of my book, Inglorious – conflict in the uplands , to a friend or suggest they get it from their local library – there’s lots about Hen Harriers but their plight forms only a part of the case for banning intensive grouse shooting completely
- on the Inglorious 12th, the opening of the grouse shooting season, come on a march in London to make driven grouse shooting history. It’s this industry, which profits from shooting birds for fun, which is threatening the Hen Harrier with extinction as an English breeding bird and causing so much other ecological damage to our environment.
[registration_form]
It’s a shame that people who care for and enjoy being around nature, in beautiful places, whatever their intention or preferred activity, won’t take a holistic view and allow room for the rare. Confrontation is unlikely to achieve much sadly so why not adopt a more gentle persuasive approach.
Individuals need to become aware of the plight of hen harriers, other raptors and mammals in our grouse shooting uplands. Big organisations like RSPB can make a massive difference here but our National parks are equally to blame. There is a consultation on the Peak Park’s next management plan and I see in the special qualities I will be inspired by hen harrier, merlin and peregrine. I struggle for the words to describe this – complete denial or a conspiracy of silence – given the virtual extinction of breeding hen harrier in England never mind the Peak. Unless we make our voices heard nothing will change so please go to the online consultation and post your comments.
Bob – many thanks!
Thanks for the reminder Bob — all filled in now.
The consultation document is (ahem) fascinating. Liked the part on “managing landscape conservation on a big scale” where they just slip in “In addition, there is the continuing absence of birds of prey and nesting birds” without further comment, as if it was a totally mystifying situation for which no cause or solution could be imagined…
Then again these are people who are able to “feel the powerful presence” of the special-quality raptors (p.22) in “the continuing absence” of same (p.46). Whereas as a mere visitor I need educating about my impact on the park lest I should adversely affect the land managers busy maintaining the special qualities and respecting the landscape.
Can anyone explain the real reason why the RSPB appears so reluctant to become involved in active campaigning, the Hen Harrier’s plight being the rather obvious example? Sure, they say the right things from time to time, and their under-resourced Investigations Unit do an admirable job, but many people simply don’t understand why they didn’t support Mark’s petition more strongly. Surely it can’t just be because their Royal Charter prohibits them from criticising “legitimate field sports”? If that is the case, isn’t it time for them to consider either having that restriction removed, or if needs be, give up the Royal Charter altogether? I certainly wouldn’t lose any sleep over them removing the word “Royal” from their title.
I do not know why RSPB is so reluctant Iain it is totally frustrating, yes they are involved in a harrier life project that does some good things but when it comes to other campaigning there is little if anything from them. There are occasional suggestions of talking to the ” dark side” organisations to solve problems but lets be frank none of MA, GWCT, CLA, NGO or CA have shown themselves capable of delivery of anything so who would you talk to meaningfully anyway. Talking has proved pointless and may even be counter productive in that they claim to be talking whilst nothing changes. It really is time that RSPB stepped up on this one.
NE are a waste of time and in some ways are now part of the problem not the solution so in many ways we need RSPB to lead even more. if it is a choice between ” royal” and harriers I know what I would be doing so why aren’t they?
Those calling for a more “gentle” approach to protecting the hen harrier are unaware of the efforts that people like Mark Avery have made to try and stop persecution of birds of prey. The issue should be above party politics, but the Tories have made no effort to ensure that wildlife crime is properly punished. We need harsher sentences; an end to cautions for serious offences; we need landowners to take responsibility for the actions of their employees (vicarious liability) which already applies in Scotland; and finally, we need an immediate suspension of gun licences for anyone found guilty of these despicable offences. Please vote for a party which will deliver on these issues.
There is a major underestimation of the effects of predation on hen harrier numbers, particularly by foxes, but also by other birds of prey.
When human disturbance is added in at any nesting sites identified in England, these birds have no hope, not even Bob Hope.
But they do now have a brood management plan, successful for golden eagles in Ireland, white tailed eagles in Scotland and red kites in England.
So we can now confidently look forward to an ever increasing abundance of these magnificent birds across England provided we learn the lessons derived from golden eagle conservation in Scotland:
‘…..there is now a healthy population which for the last 30 years has been closely monitored by Ken Crane and Kate Nellist. Their studies have found that although the population is fairly stable, annual breeding success was around .50 young per breeding pair but is currently showing a slow decline. This gives an indication of the low breeding success of the species. A factor in this success is the level of human disturbance to nest sites, and it is absolutely critical to avoid any disturbance during the breeding season’
‘One of the problems in breeding success for Golden Eagles is the availability of prey.’
http://www.skye-birds.com/eagle-watch
tim – do you just make this stuff up? Government, NGOs, scientists, raptor workers all think differently from you. Nuff said.
No need to take my word for it:
‘For the first time in my 16 year study, no young have been produced in the study area. Social media is currently alive with debate about the threats facing Hen Harriers, almost exclusively targeted at gamekeepers and estates. There are no human threats to Hen Harriers on Skye. The threats are natural and the weather may also be a factor. Whilst there are threats elsewhere on grouse moors, Hen Harriers have bred in many areas in the west of Scotland not managed for shooting, and here their breeding success can be very mixed. Sometimes I wish the cyberspace experts would get off their arses and spend some time in the field. They might then appreciate that the problem is rather more complex.’
http://www.skye-birds.com/blog/2015/07
‘Hen Harrier nesting success was studied on Skye from 2000 to 2012, during which period there were 88 breeding attempts, 47 of which resulted in nest failures, with predation the most likely cause. To obtain more accurate information on predation at Hen Harrier nests, four cameras were
used at nests between 2009 and 2012. Evidence from these cameras and post-mortem examinations showed that predation by Red Foxes was the commonest cause of nest failure, 65% of failures being attributed to foxes. In 75% of cases predation took place after dark. Foxes killed two incubating adult females on the nest. Foxes mainly predated young from two to four weeks old, but as recently fledged young return to the nest site to roost, they are also at risk. As fledglings
increased in size, nest sites became more detectable by foxes. In the absence of nest camera evidence, it was often impossible to attribute a cause of failure, as no conclusive evidence was left at the nest site. In one instance, foxes visited nest sites over a period of up to 10 days until all the young were removed. At another site an adult fox brought cubs to a nest when small young were removed. There was little evidence that adult Hen Harriers can successfully defend their young against an incursion by a fox either in daylight or darkness.’
http://robyorke.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Skye-harrier-nest-predation-report.pdf
tim – don’t you worry, I don’t. As usual, you are using an example, selectively, as though it were the general case.
It’s interesting that you are back though. Where have you been? Why are you back? how long will you stay?
Quotations from a 16 year long study and a 12 year long study.
If you guys really do want to get hen harriers back in numbers in England, those records tell you everything that you need to know.
Illegal killing is a only a tiny, though completely unacceptable, part of the problem; nevertheless one that must be stamped out; no place for it in this country.
Delighted to be back, hopefully for some time; no better place to be, particularly at this time of year.
Best wishes to all
https://markavery.info/2015/01/14/guest-blog-good-intentions-paving-company-tim-bidie-aka-monro-bellow/
“Tim Bidie says:
January 14, 2015 at 9:19 am
There is no evidence of grouse shooting interests killing hen harriers in England.”
Nuff said.
If you have evidence of anyone killing hen harriers in England, hand it to the police immediately.
The point I am making is a different one. The key to breeding success for hen harriers in England has almost nothing to do with stamping out illegal killing, as the brood management program will demonstrate over the next few years. Illegal killing accounts for a tiny number of hen harriers every year in comparison to other factors.
But don’t listen to me, listen to the experts:
‘3. Following full protection being given to nesting harriers, their numbers increased from two breeding females in 1992 to 20 in 1997, when predation by harriers limited numbers of grouse available for shooting. After grouse management stopped in 1999, carrion crows Corvus corone and red foxes Vulpes vulpes increased and numbers of female harriers dropped to below five from 2002 onwards.
4. Numbers of breeding harriers were negatively correlated with meadow pipit Anthus pratensis, crow, and July grouse abundance during the keepered period and positively with spring grouse abundance. Harrier clutch size was positively correlated with vole abundance.
5. Harrier clutch survival and productivity were higher when the moor was keepered. Predation by foxes was the main cause of harrier breeding failure.’
‘Hen harriers on a Scottish grouse moor: multiple factors predict breeding density and productivity’
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12154/pdf
So tell me Tim what you think brood management means and how it will help harriers? All the evidence is that each winter the vast majority of young harriers in England die and most of those that are satellite tagged die in circumstances strongly suggesting they were killed and most of that happens on grouse moors where incidentally foxes are almost as rare as hens teeth or for that matter successful harrier nests ( again nearly all failing in circumstances strongly suggesting persecution).
Harrier biology is designed to cope with fox predation, in my experience crow predation is not a problem.
We know brood management has succeeded for golden eagles in Ireland, white tailed eagles in Scotland (some indications that they may be out-competing golden eagles in certain places) and red kites in England. Why would it not succeed for hen harriers in England?
We know harrier biology cannot cope with fox predation, from studies in Langholm and Skye.
We also know, from camera footage, that predation of hen harrier nests by foxes often leaves no evidence.
We know corvid predation of hen harrier nestlings occurs:
http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/449/crowpredation.pdf
We also have camera evidence of a raptor attack on a hen harrier on its nest.
What we lack is any evidence that will stand up in court of illegal killing of hen harriers by grouse shooting interests in England and very little evidence of illegal killing of hen harriers elsewhere in the United Kingdom, despite illegal killing being cited as the major factor holding back hen harrier numbers in this country.
So what would the gentleman on the Clapham omnibus conclude from all that?
tim – you do talk nonsense.
Reintroduction schemes are not the same as brood meddling.
We know that harriers are eaten by lots of things, but we do know that they can cope with fox predation because they have lived together on this planet in many places for many thousands of years before men in tweed started killing both of them.
You must tell Defra that there is little evidence of illegal killing of Hen Harriers since they set up a group to look at how to solve this problems – pity it failed but then, that’s the hopelessness of Defra and the intransigence of the grouse shooting industry for you.
When was the last time you were on a Clapham omnibus? I expect he, and the lady next to him, signed my epetition to ban driven grouse shooting.
Thanks for the clarification.
‘What is brood management?
Essentially a brood management scheme proposes
is a cap on the numbers of harriers breeding on any
one estate. Once harriers get beyond this threshold
density the excess broods would be removed, reared in
captivity, and then released back to the wild’
http://hawkandowl.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Information-News-Oct16-Hen-Harriers.pdf
‘The Irish Golden Eagle Reintroduction Project’ which removes a small number of these surplus but at risk birds from their Scottish eyries, for eventual release in the wild to re-establish a breeding population in the mountains of the west of Ireland.’
http://www.skye-birds.com/eagle-watch
tim – you seem to get all your ‘information’ from Skye and yet ask for information only from England.
But it’s plain that the aim of brood meddling is to cap the numbers of a protected species – if carried out it will be subject, potentially, to legal challenge in the courts. Whereas, the removal of a small number of Golden Eagle chicks to aid an Irish reintroduction project followed normal IUCN guidelines for such work. In particular, it was restricted to chicks from nests holding two eagle chicks as it is very rare, not vanishingly rare, but very rare, for such nests to fledge two chicks (as your link made clear but you did not).
Your link does not seem to agree with the view of the Scottish licensing authority for Golden Eagles, SNH http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/scottish/IrishGoldenEagleProject.pdf
And while you peruse the SNH document please note that one of the reasons given for lower than expected Golden Eagle numbers in the central and eastern Highlands of Scotland is persecution’; that’s illegal persecution, that’s wildlife crime. You know, that thing that affects Hen Harriers too.
Once again…
“There is no evidence of grouse shooting interests killing hen harriers in England.”
Were you misinformed when you wrote this falsehood, or did you just assume that the readers of this blog were stupid enough to believe such rubbish?
Do you now wish to retract, or are you sticking to this fiction?
Do you have any evidence of…
Edited by Mark – you seem to be repeating yourself. You do that don’t you? You do that don’t you?
Do you have any evidence of…
Edited by Mark – you seem to be repeating yourself. You do that don’t you? You do that don’t you?
Standards?
Response to mark’s last comment above:
Two of the main problems for golden eagles, and hen harriers, as your reference and evidence from Skye and elsewhere indicates, are a shortage of prey and human disturbance, two factors not unrelated. Solve those two complex problems and you will have your hen harriers back
Regarding a lack of evidence from England, precisely the point. There is almost no evidence regarding hen harriers in England to support any point of view because there are so few hen harriers in England.
A special interest group without evidence to support its position is more generally known as a religion, and religions are not getting much of a good press at the moment.
Thank you very much for entertaining the devil’s advocate on this blog. I will now, once again, leave you in peace.
tim – shortage of prey in the west highlands is a problem for Golden Eagles and so is persecution. Shortage of prey is not a major problem for the Hen Harrier – illegal persecution is.
P.S. That is my point. There is no shortage of hen harriers in areas where prey is available and human disturbance is minimal, with exceptions like Skye where predation of hen harriers is extensive (over 50% of breeding attempts). Human disturbance on grouse moors is never minimal, particularly in Yorkshire, where public footpaths like The Cleveland Way often go straight through them. Thanks again.
‘……since the 1980s there has been a broadly stable population of hen harriers in Scotland, fluctuating over time and between regions. In 2004 hen harriers were nationally in favourable conservation status in Scotland according to measures chosen by SNH in a conservation report for the UK’s Joint Nature Conservation Committee. A hen harrier report for SNH is awaited later this year, which will incorporate the results of the latest national survey in 2010. It is expected to show a population of around 500 breeding pairs; lower than the 633 recorded in 2004 but higher than the 436 pairs in 1998.’
https://www.gwct.org.uk/scotland/policy/the-status-of-hen-harriers-in-scotland/
tim – I knew you hadn’t really gone.
You don’t really seem to know what your point is, nor do your remarks help the rest of us to try to find it.
You’ve switched to Scotland again, I see. In Scotland, there is an almost complete lack of Hen Harriers on grouse moors – Langholm (when crawling with scientists) being the main exception. These sites are not known for their massive human footprint. because HH move around, the grouse moors act as a population sink which depresses the population away from grouse moors too. See Inglorious Chapter 1 – the bit about mashed potato and soup is particularly germane.
P.P.S. mark – catch 22/just a minute. I cannot repeat my point, for clarification, or thank you again, without repetition.
So Mr Bidie ties himself in all kinds of knots, then does a runner when his ridiculous claims are exposed for what they are!