141 hen harrier chicks have fledged in England this year – the
seventh year in a row that numbers have increased – according to
statistics released today by Natural England.
Hen harriers are rare and birds of prey that have become an icon
for conservation and Nature recovery in England. They are
beautiful, striking birds, with a wingspan of over a metre. In
Spring they engage in graceful, dramatic ‘sky dancing’ courtship
displays, as well a ‘throw and catch’ transfers of food between
airborne birds.
The increase in hen harrier chicks successfully fledging means
that 2023 is another record year, following 119 chicks recorded
from nests in County Durham, Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland
and Yorkshire in 2022. There are now more hen harriers in
England since they were lost as a breeding species around 200
years ago.
Hen harriers were driven to extinction across mainland Britain
during the 19th century as the result of illegal persecution and
disturbance, only beginning to recolonise during the 1960’s. Just
a decade ago there were no hen harriers nesting successfully in
England.
Natural England Chair Tony Juniper said:
The continuing year on year increase in the number of hen
harriers fledging from English nests is fantastic to see, and
shows how through partnership work it is possible to reverse
Nature’s decline, even in the most challenging of
circumstances. The encouraging numbers we see again this
year are testament to the volunteers, landowners and partner
organisations who have worked so hard to support and monitor
these birds.
Today’s news is, however, overshadowed by continuing illegal
persecution, which despite all the good practice among many
landowners still stubbornly persists. We know that much more
needs to be done to protect these precious birds and remain
absolutely committed to working with our partners to stamp out
the despicable killing of these wonderful creatures that bring so
much joy to so many people. We will continue to work hard,
improving monitoring and conservation management to achieve long
term recovery.
In 2023, 54 nests were recorded (up from 49 last year), of which
36 were successful (34 last year). This represents an average of
3.9 chicks per successful nest. Northumberland had the
highest number of nesting attempts, 17 in total and the highest
increase on the year before where 9 nests were recorded. The
Yorkshire Dales and Nidderdale area also remained a strong hold
with 15 nests recorded in 2023.
The fledglings recorded this year includes 24 brood-managed
chicks, taken from six nests on grouse moors and reared to
fledging in captivity. The brood management programme is an
experiment to see if removing hen harrier chicks from grouse
moors for rearing in captivity for later release reduces conflict
with game shooting and reduces persecution sufficiently to allow
populations to recover. Natural England is committed to a full
scientific investigation of this technique and the brood
management trial has recently been extended to further understand
the impact this has had on their conservation.
Despite this progress, illegal killing of birds of prey remains a
serious and ongoing issue which Natural England is working
alongside the police and National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle.
Natural England’s work to protect, monitor and support numbers of
hen harriers is part of the Hen Harrier Action Plan. This
includes a number of actions to enable hen harriers to thrive,
such as a project to reintroduce the birds to southern England,
licences for diversionary feeding and improved satellite
tracking.
Notes to editors:
