'Bermuda triangle for birds': killings threaten rare hen harriers' recovery

The sweeping edge of the Pennines at Geltsdale - a large nature reserve with a diverse mix of heather moorland, resurgent scrub, rough grassland and a rewilded stream - has perfect conditions for the rare hen harrier to thrive and conservationists hope this year it will. But there remain fears that illegal persecution will continue to hinder the rare raptor's recovery.

- Patrick Barkham

"There are loads of birds about but they are not lasting very long," said David Morris, the area manager for Cumbria and north-east England for conservation charity the RSPB. "It's like the Bermuda Triangle for birds when they leave the reserve." Last spring, RSPB Geltsdale hosted two successful pairs of nesting hen harriers for the first time since 1999.

But a satellite-tagged male bird was found shot dead on a neighbouring grouse moor and the tag of one of five fledglings stopped transmitting in a known hotspot for raptor persecution.

Ecologists calculate there could be nine nests on the reserve if there was less illegal persecution in the surrounding uplands, where hen harriers are seen as consuming large quantities of red grouse chicks, which grouse moor managers prize for the driven grouse shooting season.

According to 2023 figures released today, the UK and Isle of Man hen harrier population has increased by 20% from 545 territorial pairs in 2016 to 691 pairs. In England, there were 50 breeding attempts in 2023, up from just four pairs in 2016, although numbers are still below the 749 pairs recorded in 2004.