Keep an eye on sky to spot rare raptors
Help to protect hen harriers by contacting hotline
RSPB Scotland is asking Strath residents to keep their eyes peeled for one of the UK’s rarest birds of prey as they return to their breeding grounds.
Hen harriers are medium-sized birds of prey, similar to a buzzard but with a slightly slimmer appearance, with long wings and a long tail.
Female and young hen harriers are speckled brown and cream with horizontal stripes on their tails. The most striking feature is the patch of white at their rump.
Males are slightly smaller and pale grey with black wingtips. Both have a round, owl-like face.
As the weather warms up, hen harriers are becoming more visible as they start their long journeys away from their winter roosting grounds and up to the moors to breed.
The birds nest on the ground among heather or soft rush in upland areas.
Eagle-eyed locals may even be lucky enough to encounter their skydancing display, a dizzying aerial show of rolls and dives performed by both males and females to mark their territory and demonstrate their vigour.
However, the RSPB says that hen harriers are the UK’s most persecuted bird of prey relative to its population size.
Their Scottish population is of global importance, yet it remains far from stable largely as a result of illegal killing.
The RSPB’s Jenni Burrell said: “We are calling on the public to email our Hen Harrier Hotline if they believe they’ve seen a hen harrier.
“This helps us build a picture of where these birds are. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you see them - we welcome any sightings and appreciate your time.
“Hen harriers are beautiful and elusive raptors and, unlike peregrines and kestrels, they are rarely seen in urban environments.
“So, if it’s perched on your fence, it’s probably a sparrowhawk; if it’s in a tree by the roadside, it’s probably a kestrel or a buzzard, but if it’s over rough pasture or moorland, and matches the description above, then you might have seen a hen harrier.”
Anyone who thinks they have seen a hen harrier is asked to email henharriers@ rspb.org.uk.
RSPB Scotland has asked that the date, time, location/grid reference and a description of the bird be included within any reports submitted, where possible.