Welcome to our South East Christmas Countdown no.11.
We asked which male bird gives his girlfriend presents in mid-air? Did you guess the answer was the marsh harrier? There’s a clue at the bottom to tomorrow’s story. If you missed no.12 in the Countdown, you can read it here.
Christmas is a time of celebration! In our countdown to Christmas, we would like to share with you some of this year’s success stories, about some of our most threatened birds in the South East. In September, the State of Nature 2016 report was published. It highlights the alarming decline of many UK species, but it also showed that we can turn the fortunes of our wildlife around, given determination, resources, public support and conservation action.
About our resident marsh harriers
February is a time of romance for our resident marsh harriers and their courtship is energetic and dramatic. The male flies in circles at a great height over the breeding area before dropping close to the ground, performing an elaborate sequence of tumbles. Sometimes the female joins in, and the pair lock talons and tumble through the air together. Later into the season, the male often drops food into the female's talons in mid-air.
In the UK, marsh harriers had been hunted to extinction by the start of the 20th century, but started to recolonise and recover in the 1920s. Unfortunately, they absorbed the toxic farmland chemical DDT when they ate their prey, which caused another population crash in the 1950s-60s. By 1971 just one pair were recorded in the whole of the UK, at RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk.
Good news from 2016
The restoration of natural reedbeds has provided marsh harriers with the right conditions to breed, hunt, and thrive, both in the South East and across the UK. This year, 34 marsh harrier chicks fledged from our South East RSPB reserves, following the restoration and management of lost reedbeds at sites including RSPB Northward Hill in Kent and RSPB Brading Marshes on the Isle of Wight. Marsh harrier males may mate with more than one female. Thanks to conservation action, over 500 pairs are thought to be present in the UK today!
Our work wouldn’t be possible without your continued support, through membership, volunteering and even your Christmas purchases in our shops. On behalf of our teams and all the wildlife you have helped us to save, thank you, and have a great Christmas!
Our story for March
We’ll celebrate another story tomorrow, so keep an eye out for it, but in the meantime here’s a clue to keep you guessing…
Dutch elm disease was a welcome gift for which conservation priority species … before its population declined again?