Investigation as bird disappears
POLICE and the RSPB are investigating the disappearance of a rare bird of prey which fledged in the Northumberland area this summer.
The hen harrier, named Manu, was one of a nest of two chicks monitored and protected by the Northumberland Hen Harrier Protection Partnership and was satellite-tagged as part of the RSPB’s EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE+ project in July.
Manu’s tag, which has suddenly stopped functioning, indicated he had been in the same location near Denton Fell, on the Cumbria/Northumberland border, for around three weeks. The last signal was sent from Blenkinsopp Common.
A search was conducted by RSPB Investigations staff but no tag or body was found.
Hen harriers are one of the UK’s rarest birds of prey with only three successful nests recorded in England this year – all in Northumberland.
Tim Jones, RSPB assistant investigations officer, said: “These spectacular birds should be flourishing in places like Cumbria and Northumberland but we are down to just a handful of pairs. So it’s alarming when yet another bird unaccountably vanishes like this.”
Andrew Miller, head of programmes and conservation at Northumberland National Park, and chairman of the Northumberland Hen Harrier Protection Partnership, said: “With so few hen harriers breeding in England the loss of even a single bird is devastating.
“The Northumberland Hen Harrier Protection Partnership, along with many other organisations and individuals across the UK, is putting considerable effort into helping this struggling species recover.”
Don Churchill, wildlife co-ordinator and planning officer with Northumbria Police, said: “We are very concerned at the disappearance of one of these iconic birds of prey. Hen harriers are fully protected by law and raptor persecution is a national wildlife crime priority.
“We urge you to come forward if you have any information about the disappearance of this bird.”
Police are also investigating the disappearance of another satellitetagged hen harrier this week in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Anyone with information should call Northumbria Police on 101.
RARE HEN HARRIER HAS GONE MISSING FROM HOME