Hunt for the harrier

The public are being asked to help with a nationwide survey of England's most threatened bird of prey to be carried out this summer. A special hotline has been set up for people to ring in with sightings of the Hen Harrier, which the RSPB fears may be on the verge of extinction as a breeding species in England. Last year there were just six successful Hen Harrier nests across the whole of the country, despite there being suitable habitat for at least 200 pairs. The RSPB believes the bird's numbers are so low due to years of sustained, illegal killing and nest destruction.

Hen Harrier, Stodmarsh NNR, Kent (Photo: Steve Ashton)

For the last few weeks, field workers and volunteers have been trying to find and record every Hen Harrier in England, as part of SCARABBS (Statutory Conservation Agency and RSPB Annual Breeding Bird Scheme), the programme that ensures regular surveys of the UK's rarest breeding birds.

Mark Eaton, Senior Conservation Scientist at the RSPB, said: "It is going to involve a lot of effort, but we are going to try and find all the Hen Harriers attempting to breed in England. Sadly, there are so few that we may spend a lot of time looking at empty moorland, but we want to be able to say the survey was as thorough as possible. By running the hotline, we hope walkers, cyclists and anyone else who spends time in the uplands of northern England will be able to report sightings of the birds. For our part, we will try to make sure all records of possible breeding birds are followed up. Hen Harriers are now so rare that if they are out there, we want to go out and see what we can do for them."

Confirmed sightings will also help to target the work of nest monitors, who are hoping to work with local land managers in mounting a 24-hour guard on any nest sites to prevent deliberate disturbance or killing of the harriers.

Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's Director of Conservation, said: "We have to ask ourselves whether in the 21st Century, we are going to allow a species to be driven to extinction by man. We stand to lose Hen Harriers from England as a breeding bird despite the best efforts of conservationists over many years. I hope that anyone lucky enough to spot one of these glorious birds will take the time to give us a call."

The Harrier Hotline number is 0845 4600121 (calls charged at local rate). Reports can also be emailed to henharriers@rspb.org.uk. Reports of sightings should include the date and location of sighting, with a six-figure grid reference where possible.