The elegant hen harrier is perhaps the most iconic bird of prey in the uplands of northern England, but it is also one of the most endangered bird of prey in Britain. These large raptors wheel and soar above the moorland and, in late spring, perform a spectacular ‘sky dance’, exchanging tokens of their affection […]
Tag: goshawk
Going extinct ‘right under our noses’: the quiet plight of Australia’s rarest bird of prey
Setting up a base in the tallest tree, usually around a creek somewhere, the red goshawk will hunt beneath the canopy – chasing down speed demons such as the rainbow lorikeet and plucking them out of the air. The soft thrum of their deep, powerful, metre-wide wings can be heard from the ground as they […]
Endangered Thick-Billed Parrot That Once Roamed the US Is on the Way to Recovery
A public-private partnership in Mexico just announced that the current population of thick-billed parrots is approximately 2,500 individuals—at least 10% higher than that recorded 12 years ago. The number was determined in a recent population survey in a protected area in the state of Chihuahua, where once upon a time this charismatic species roamed north […]
More hen harriers killed in UK during 2023 than in any other year, RSPB says
More hen harriers were killed in 2023 than in any other year on record, a report has found. The RSPB’s Birdcrime report also found that at least 1,344 individual birds of prey were persecuted in the UK between 2009 and 2023, and that 75% of people convicted of offences related to the persecution of birds […]
Rare “Lost” Bird Of Prey Photographed For First Time Ever In Papua New Guinea
When Fiji-based photographer Tom Vierus was busy taking pictures of the birds on Papua New Guinea’s New Britain in March this year, little did he know that his memory card was storing quite the scientific find. Now, ornithologists have revealed that what Vierus had managed to capture was the first-ever photograph of the rare New […]
Africa’s Birds of Prey Are Experiencing an Extinction Crisis
Birds of prey in Africa are currently experiencing an extinction crisis, with more than two-thirds potentially threatened, according to a new study by an international research team led by The Peregrine Fund and researchers from the University of St. Andrews. Of the 42 species profiled in the report, 88 percent have declined over a 20- […]
Wryneck
The winds changed to the south today and whilst that did not bring any immediate changes to the birdlife in Maridalen it might mean that the rain that is forecast to start at 3am tonight might well bring down a lot of migrating birds (ever the optimist). Three flocks of Pink-footed Geese heading north today […]
A quick catch up
I’ve spent some time this week looking for the Epping Harrier without any joy but still had plenty of action with Red Kites, Buzzards and Sparrowhawks all showing in good numbers. A male Goshawk and a pair of Raven added to the drama as did a day calling Tawny Owl, lots of Deer and a […]