Marsh harriers make the most of their privacy

A FALL in visitors to National Trust sites because of lockdown had an upside for a rare species of bird, which has had the most successful breeding year in decades.

The marsh harrier was once on the brink of extinction in the UK, with only one breeding female thought to be existing in the wild in the Seventies.

Since then, conservation efforts have helped bolster numbers, with 400 nesting pairs in the country, but this year’s quiet conditions have particularly suited the raptor, which is still classed as amber on the RSPB’S conservation list.

At least 12 marsh harrier chicks have successfully fledged at the National Trust’s Wicken Fen Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire, making 2020 the most successful breeding year in more than 20 years.

Other breeding successes this year include several broods of lapwing.