If there is one bird we're all waiting with bated breath to see on the Springwatch cameras, it’s the marsh harrier. We were given a tantalising teaser at Easter-time, when we were introduced to Minsmere’s ‘marshes’, but they've yet to make an appearance in the main event so far. Marsh harriers have a history at Minsmere- read out to find out more, and watch the video with Minsmere's Senior Site Manager Adam Rowlands here.
A female marsh harrier stretches her wings at Minsmere. Photo by Oscar Dewhurst
Marsh harriers have bred at Minsmere since the 1940s, after the land next to the coast at what is now one of the RSPB's flagship nature reserves was deliberately flooded during the Second World War as a defence against a potential invasion. An unplanned side-effect of this flooding was to create the ideal conditions for the establishment of Minsmere's now famous reedbeds, in which marsh harriers build their nests. It was all plain sailing from then on though, and marsh harriers were in for a rough ride.
In 1971, two decades of habitat loss, persecution and the impact of DDT had reduced the entire British population of marsh harriers to a single pair, breeding here at Minsmere. Only heightened legal protection for the birds and their habitats, and conservation efforts at Minsmere and other wetlands around the UK, have enabled numbers of marsh harriers to recover until today there are more than 400 nests recorded in the UK each year.
This is a success story, but it is sobering to remember that this species is still as rare as the golden eagle in the UK. It is vital for the future of marsh harriers and other rare and threatened wildlife around the UK that we continue to protect and conserve species and the places where they live. You can help Defend Nature, find out how here: www.rspb.org.uk/defendnature #defendnature
This year there are 10 marsh harrier nests at Minsmere, but the Suffolk coast reserve isn’t the only place to see them. 80 per cent of the UK’s marsh harriers can be found in the East of England, where there are extensive reedbeds in The Broads, Cambridgshire Fens and coastal wetlands in Norfolk and Suffolk. Titchwell Marsh, Strumpshaw Fen and Lakenheath Fen are all great places to see marsh harriers. Find out more and plan your visit at www.rspb.org.uk/reserves
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