As spring starts to seep into the uplands of northern England, all of us here at the RSPB would like to make a fresh appeal to those of you who are out and about in the hills over the spring and summer to keep an eye out for hen harriers and to call or email in with your sightings.
After a disastrous breeding season in 2012 the English harrier population really need to have more success in 2013. Whilst we have a team of dedicated staff and volunteers monitoring key areas we aren’t able to cover all of our upland areas so receiving sightings from people like you is extremely useful.
So, if you are lucky enough to make contact with one of these magnificent birds, where ever you are, then get in touch and let us know when, where and a description of its behavior, a six figure grid reference would also be fantastic (but don’t worry if you can’t)
The season is already getting off to an encouraging start with both males and females being seen around our core Skydancer project areas over the last few days and weeks, but where else are they being seen?
Help the RSPB protect hen harriers by calling 08454600121 (charged at a local rate) or email us at henharriers@rspb.org.uk
A female hen harrier - clearly identifiable by the white band of feathers at the base of her tail. Mark Hamblin (rspb-images.com)