Grouse moors are to blame for persecuting endangered birds of prey in the Scottish Highlands and Uplands, according to a wildlife crime expert. Ian Thomson, the head of investigations at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland, said data from 77 birds of prey that had been satellite-tagged showed a direct correlation between […]
Tag: Hen Harrier
POLL: Should wildlife crime be enforced by tougher legislation?
Almost 200 reports of shooting, trapping and destruction of birds of prey were received by the RSPB in 2015, the charity said. Some 64 out of the 196 reports were confirmed, including the shooting or attempted shooting of 46 birds of prey, including 16 buzzards, 11 peregrines, three red kites, one red-footed falcon and one […]
The severe Baltic winter that made thousands of birds flee
We seem, nowadays, to have forgotten what a “proper” winter is like. A series of mild seasons, punctuated only by the freeze-ups of 2009-10 and 2010-11, have perhaps made us complacent. But for Europe’s birds, cold winters need to be taken far more seriously. Almost 30 years ago the winter of 1978-79 led to a […]
More Harrier action at Wallasea
Another trip to Wallasea Island at first light this morning. A Male Merlin zipped along the reeds and a female was seen sitting on a fence post too before two Ring-tail Hen Harriers and a Marsh Harrier came out to play. Several Kestrel and a few more flying passes from the Merlins kept me entertained […]
Harriers and Shorties!
My day started in gloomy weather at Wallasea this morning where four Marsh Harriers and a single Ring-tail Hen Harrier entertained me. With the Shorties staying down I headed off in search of a bit more light and found some in Cambridgeshire and the Short-eared Owls came out to play at this venue too. A […]
Hen Harrier is Actually Two Different Species
New research confirms that the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), a medium-sized bird of prey found in parts of North America and Eurasia, is two different species of bird that are only distantly related. The study, led by Dr. Graham Etherington of the University of California’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and the Earlham Institute, explores the […]
Another Hen Harrier shot dead sparking fears for rare bird of prey
Detectives at Cumbria Police have opened a full criminal investigation into the fatal shooting of one of the bird of prey, called Rowan. Last year there were just six successful hen harrier nests resulting from 12 attempts in England. But this year the RSPB says there are only three nests known to be currently in […]
POLL: Should subsidies to grouse shooting estates be stopped?
England’s vast grouse shooting estates receive millions of pounds in public subsidies according to an investigation by Friends of the Earth. Thirty of the estates received £4m of taxpayer’s money between them in 2014, the year examined by the pressure group, including one owned by the Duke of Westminster, the richest landowner in Britain with […]