Conservation work ‘will go on’ after harrier’s disappearance
THE disappearance of a satellite-tagged hen harrier in “suspicious” circumstances will not halt vital conservation work to protect endangered species, a charity has vowed.
Calluna, a young female harrier, was tagged this summer at a nest on the National Trust for Scotland’s (NTS) Mar Lodge estate near Braemar, Aberdeenshire, as part of the charity’s EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE project.
Her last recorded position was on a grouse moor a few miles north of Ballater, in the Cairngorms National Park.
Conservationists have called the disappearance “very concerning” and are urging anyone with information to contact police.
David Frew, operations manager at the Mar Lodge estate for NTS, said staff at the charity and estate were “deeply saddened” by the apparent loss of the bird.
“She was the result of only the second successful breeding attempt by hen harriers on the estate in living memory,” he said.
“We are not going to let this stop our vital conservation work. We are going to carry on at Mar Lodge and our other properties, doing what we can to ensure the survival and recovery of endangered species.”
Data from Calluna’s transmitter was being monitored by RSPB Scotland and showed that she fledged in July, left the area in early August and gradually headed east over the Deeside moors.
Transmissions were said to have ended “abruptly” on August 12, the start of the grouse shooting season.
Ian Thomson, head of investigations at RSPB Scotland, said: “This bird joins the lengthening list of satellite-tagged birds of prey that have disappeared, in highly suspicious circumstances, almost exclusively in areas intensively managed for grouse shooting.
“The transmitters used in this project are incredibly reliable and the sudden halt in data being received from it is very concerning”