PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
A species of European conservation concern, the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) is listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive. After several decades of recovery in the UK, the population is currently declining in parts of its range, and it is clear that illegal persecution associated with commercial shooting of red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) is the key factor. The decline is particularly serious in northern England and southern and eastern Scotland, where the hen harrier is nearing extinction as a breeding species. Other factors that are likely to be impacting breeding success include inappropriate land management, commercial afforestation of uplands, human disturbance and the predation of eggs and young from nests. Recent analyses published by the UK government indicate that enough suitable habitat exists to support up to 2 650 breeding pairs in the whole of the UK (compared to 630 pairs in 2010), suggesting that, in the long term, the potential for population growth in the absence of human persecution is significant.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE hen harriers project focused on the protection of hen harriers from illegal human persecution. The aim was to provide the conditions for the recovery of the hen harrier’s range and population. Within the timeframe of the project, the key priorities were to prevent the extinction of the hen harrier as a breeding species in northern England, and to arrest its decline in southern and eastern Scotland, as vital first steps towards a population recovery that could take at least 10 years.
The project would combine ‘preparatory’ work with conservation and communication actions. Data from preparatory activities would guide targeted conservation measures to protect the species and to collect evidence to support law enforcement actions combating illegal human persecution. Species protection work would be supplemented by habitat management and advisory work designed to provide suitable conditions for breeding and wintering at key project sites.
Satellite tags would be fitted to nestlings to obtain accurate information on hen harrier movements, juvenile survival, and the nature of human persecution outside the breeding season through the dispersal corridors to the wintering areas. The novel surveillance technologies used are potentially applicable to similar species protection projects.
Specifically, the project aimed to:
RESULTS
The LIFE hen harriers project advanced knowledge of the movements of hen harriers in the UK, protected nesting sites and winter roosts, and raised awareness of the threats to the species. Its five-year tagging programme led to 117 individuals being fitted with satellite transmitters. The team found that the birds can move freely within the UK, as well as to Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Continent. At the start of the project the situation in England was critical, with a risk of regional extinction. However, 12 successful nests were recorded in 2019 raising 41 chicks. In Scotland, the minimum target of at least 35 pairs in southern and eastern Scotland was met but most of the birds are now found outside designated Natura 2000 sites (SPAs). The project highlighted the overall failure of SPAs to hold breeding birds. Public interest remained high throughout the project with many people expressing their anger over illegal killing and lending their support to the RSPB's Hen Harrier Appeal. A number of private businesses also offered their support. However, the conflict between grouse moor managers and sporting interests with the conservation sector shows no sign of being resolved in the short term despite the advocacy work carried out under the project. The impasse led RSPB to withdraw from the England and Wales 'Defra Hen Harrier Recovery Plan'. Nevertheless, the RSPB maintains good relations with many key landowners and Raptor Study Groups, which proved vital for the tagging activities. The layman's report includes recommendations for a licensing system (now proposed for introduction in Scotland), stronger sentences for offences (now introduced in Scotland), continuing public engagement and a coordinated European Species Action Plan. The project's tagging work was extended to Wales due to reports of illegal killing of hen harriers in the Welsh uplands. As a result of the project, the Welsh government will now help fund a tagging and monitoring study for Wales. In England, however, despite successful discussions with Members of Parliament, it has not been possible to make any real progress on a governmental level.
The scale of the project was instrumental in deploying lighter and more accurate satellite and GSM tags that have recently been developed for smaller bird species. It highlighted the potential of innovative GSM technology tags, although their use is hampered by the poor coverage of mobile phone networks in some remote areas.
Community engagement work aimed to encourage discussion on the management of uplands, emphasising the need for game shooting, upland management and conservation to work together. The RSPB is demonstrating new ways of managing the uplands on its own reserves and wants to reduce conflict between raptors and grouse moor management, e.g. through supplementary feeding, a technique trialled successfully as part of the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project www.langholmproject.com.
Despite the project’s achievements, the 2016 survey showed that the hen harrier population in the UK continues to decline with the exception of Orkney and the Inner and Outer Hebrides in Scotland. The next national population survey in 2022 will be a critical milestone, but the publication of the tagging data collected under the project further demonstrates the link between illegal killing and private sporting estates that focus on grouse moor management. The hen harrier remains a priority species for RSPB.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).
