![]() “There’s growing public knowledge and anger about what is going on,” said Martin Harper, conservation director at the RSPB. “It is unpopular with some but it means raptors are not taking grouse chicks to feed their own chicks.”Īn RSPB study in the Peak District National Park suggests strong associations between intensive grouse-moor management in the Dark Peak and raptor persecution: goshawks and peregrines declined significantly in the Dark Peak between 19 but increased five-fold and 20-fold respectively elsewhere in the park. This sees raptor chicks removed from nests and raised in an aviary, then later released near to where they were taken. Smith suggests legal measures, such as brood management, may help. “This is not a simple story so many people are not prepared to listen.” “That showed that if raptor predation of grouse chicks is too high then management is withdrawn, sheep graze the land, the heather deteriorates, foxes and crows come in and predate on hen harrier chicks,” he says. Smith points to Langholm Moor in Dumfries & Galloway, which has been monitored for predator-prey interaction. “The irony is that gamekeepers actually protect hen harriers,” says Dr Adam Smith, GWCT’s director for Scotland. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust argues that the demise of grouse moors would adversely affect hen harriers. In 2017 there were three breeding pairs of hen harriers in England Does grouse-moor management help harriers? Four other uncategorised incidents of persecution were recorded in 2017. The footage revealed armed men visiting the nest and removing eggs. RSPB officers installed a covert camera to monitor the nest. More happily, a chick was rescued and fledged.Ī marsh harrier nesting attempt was recorded at a grouse estate in North Yorkshire in May 2017. The RSPB says the site has a history of poison being used to target birds of prey. They had died after eating a pigeon illegally laced with diazinon. Poisoning: In May 2017, two adult peregrine falcons were found poisoned at a quarry in Shropshire. Police investigated both incidents but no prosecution has followed. The next day, the RSPB recovered the body of a short-eared owl. The same month on this estate, a witness heard a single gunshot. Shooting: A first-hand account of a man shooting a hen harrier on a driven grouse moor in South Lanarkshire was given to Police Scotland in 2017. Some gamekeepers have provided intelligence about estates where hen harriers have been killed. “These are confirmed cases, accepted by the police as reliably recorded in some cases, police themselves have witnessed the crimes,” says Thomas. The report highlights incidents featuring the major raptor species in the UK. How to prepare your garden for autumn and winter birds bird of prey statistics 2017’s recorded birdcrime incidents ![]() Typically, the carcass will be incinerated and the tag smashed with a mallet.Įllie Harrison: the plight of the starling in Britain “The bird and the tag just disappear and we can pinpoint exactly where that happens,” says Mark Thomas of the RSPB’s investigations unit. Satellite tags that track the movements of birds of prey have collected irrefutable evidence of their persecution: 68% of all hen harriers tagged by Natural England have vanished on or near grouse moors. Where they fly over moors that host grouse shooting, they also take grouse chicks, putting them in conflict with gamekeepers. Hen harriers live on moors and hunt for birds and small mammals. The RSPB’s Birdcrime 2017 report highlights hen harrier persecution (other birds of prey crimes are also included). Behind the headlines: why are birds of prey under attack? What is the problem?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |