Hen harriers are being recorded on not less than half of grouse moors in England together with on the Swinton Estate close to Ripon.
The harrier is among the most at-risk birds of prey within the UK and a government-led motion plan is in operation to assist enhance the inhabitants.
Data from satellite-tagged hen harriers given a lift within the Brood Management Scheme trial exhibits the survival charge from fledging by way of the tough winter months to the next May is 44 per cent, in contrast with 24 per cent for wild birds.
Fledging success of the trial so far has been practically 100 per cent– increased than noticed in related captive rearing programmes and within the wild.
The causes for the improved survival charge should not totally understood, however a full formal investigation into the consequences of the Brood Management Trial is underway.
Hen Harriers undergo excessive mortality charges, significantly of their first 12 months of life. The hen harrier inhabitants in England is now at a 200-year excessive, with 141 chicks fledging efficiently in 2023.
Since the primary broods had been managed in 2019, 58 chicks have been taken, safely reared and launched again into the wild inhabitants.
The Moorland Association is a companion within the Brood Management Scheme trial and has helped satellite tv for pc tag birds in every of the 5 years the trial has been working. Thanks to this monitoring expertise, the researchers know that among the birds from the cohort tagged in 2020, for instance, are nesting and breeding efficiently, including additional chicks to the rising inhabitants.
Wet, chilly and cloudy winter climate just isn’t solely a problem for the young birds but in addition for his or her monitoring units which depend on photo voltaic powered batteries.
This 12 months 9 birds had been tagged of which 4 are nonetheless transmitting often. It is hoped that the indicators might return with some higher climate, however the lack of sign from some is being handled as suspicious and is at present below police investigation.
The most celebrated of the satellite-tagged wild birds in England might be Frank, who was fitted with a tag by Natural England in August 2018 and who has gone on to father not less than 21 chicks. Frank was not initially a brood-managed chook however a few of his chicks have been taken into the scheme. Frank continues to be seen within the skies above Nidderdale and Coverdale in North Yorkshire and making use of the winter roost at Swinton, typically joined by as much as 12 different grownup and juvenile hen harriers, which could be seen from the property chook conceal.
Amanda Anderson, director of the Moorland Association, stated: “Despite the challenges confronted by hen harriers in England, we’re heading in the right direction.
“The figures present an entire turnaround within the English inhabitants. There had been no nests or chicks fledged in 2013 in comparison with 141 chicks fledged this 12 months. Since the primary licence for brood administration was available in 2018, a formidable enchancment within the total inhabitants has been recorded, with 485 chicks efficiently taking to the wing in England, 9 occasions the quantity within the six-year interval earlier than the trial.
“There is solely no manner that this exceptional enchancment might have been achieved with out brood administration.
“I am incredibly grateful to all those estates, keepers and partners such as the field teams from Natural England who have worked so hard on the conservation of this species. The trial has shown to date that grouse moor operators have stepped up to the plate and brought harriers back in significant numbers.”
