RECORD numbers of satellite tags have been fitted to one of our most threatened birds of prey, whose numbers continue to plummet amidst sustained persecution, according to conservationists.
More than 24 hen harrier chicks now sport transmitters so far, the majority of them in Scotland, which the RSPB said has doubled the number from any other year.
By tracking the movements of the birds, the RSPB will be able to build a clearer picture of where hen harriers go and where they are most at risk, for example from illegal persecution.
Campaigners have claimed there is an association with sporting estates’ driven grouse moors as hen harriers kill grouse chicks, but the gamekeepers and land owners have always denied they are involved in such wildlife crime.
However the charity hopes the “Hen Harrier Class of 2017” will fare better than those of 2016. Out of the 12 young harriers fitted then with tags by the RSPB only five are still alive.
It is not only RSPB-tagged hen harriers that have met untimely ends in the last year. In May a police investigation was launched after a hen harrier was allegedly shot on Leadhills Estate in South Lanarkshire.
Blanaid Denman, project manager for the RSPB’s Hen Harrier Life+ Project, said: “By satellite tracking more hen harriers than ever before, we’ll gain a clearer picture of where these birds are spending their time and what exactly is happening to them.We have discovered previously unknown nesting and winter roosting sites, as well as being able to pinpoint where natural deaths and illegal killings have occurred. It’s infuriating and heartbreaking to see these beautiful birds, year after year, disappear off the radar.”
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