Latest news with #ChrisHind
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Mysterious disappearance of four rare birds sparks concern for their survival
Four breeding male hen harriers have vanished from their nests. The birds disappeared from the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire and RSPB Geltsdale Nature Reserve in Cumbria during an eight-day period in May. Hen harriers are a rare, red-listed species, and their decline in the UK has long been linked to illegal killing. Chris Hind, a volunteer at Geltsdale RSPB Reserve, said: "We were incredibly hopeful that our efforts would pay off, but nothing was guaranteed. "To see these birds take to the sky after weeks of tough work is fantastic but, as with all hen harriers in the UK, these birds face an uncertain future." Despite the loss of the males, RSPB staff and volunteers managed to help five chicks fledge from two of the affected nests by providing emergency food to the females, who would otherwise have abandoned the young. In Bowland, one of the missing males was a satellite-tagged bird known as Dynamo. His tag suddenly stopped transmitting, with no evidence of malfunction. READ MORE: Council preparing new housing strategy for coming decade Mountain rescue team rescue woman with suspected broken leg from moors Reform council leader lands £30k a year gig heading party on national body Dynamo is the 115th tagged hen harrier to disappear in the UK since 2010. Lancashire and Cumbria police launched investigations, but no charges have been brought. Mark Thomas, RSPB head of investigations UK, said: "Sadly, these four missing hen harriers are just the latest in a long line of identical incidents recorded over decades and demonstrate the catastrophic knock-on effect to the breeding success and recovery of this species. "Those killing hen harriers do so with little or no fear of recrimination. "Now is the time for the Westminster government to act on licensing this industry, if it is truly serious about the conservation of this amazing species." Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on 101. If you wish to contact anonymously, call the RSPB's confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101.
BBC News
7 days ago
- BBC News
Cumbria and Lancashire hen harrier chicks fledge
Five hen harrier chicks have fledged "against the odds" after four breeding males disappeared, the RSPB at the conservation charity said the disappearance of two of the rare birds from RSPB Geltsdale Nature Reserve in Cumbria, and a further two from the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, pointed to their illegal staff and volunteers intervened to provide their paired females with emergency food in an effort to save their RSPB Reserve volunteer Chris Hind said: "To see these birds take to the sky after weeks of tough work is fantastic but, as with all hen harriers in the UK, these birds face an uncertain future." The protected bird species, known for their acrobatic "skydancing" courtship displays, are categorised as red-listed in terms of conservation of the four nests had failed at incubation stage, the charity staff and volunteers "quickly responded" to the nests that had youngsters, providing additional food under a licence from Natural England."The aim is to compensate for a reduction in natural food being brought into a nest," the RSPB chicks grew wings large enough for flight from Geltsdale, and two from Bowland. The RSPB said it was "highly unusual" for a male to naturally desert its charity previously said hen harriers were often targets for rogue gamekeepers trying to protect commercial grouse stocks from being preyed the Moorland Association, which is responsible for more than a million acres of moorlands in England and Wales, rebutted, saying none of those convicted of bird crime were gamekeepers - who were actually "working hard to help birds thrive".Chief executive Andrew Gilruth said the RSPB's claims were "unproven, unverified smears" from an "organisation with a fundraising agenda". Cumbria Police said it was liaising with the National Wildlife Crime Unit to investigate the disappearance of two male hen harriers from the Geltsdale area in May. Lancashire Police has been approached for comment. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
