A REWARD of £10,000 is being offered after three nesting male hen harriers vanished from East Lancashire in as many weeks in unexplained circumstances.

Experts fear the birds have been killed. The RSPB says a report by Natural England states that the largest cause for breeding failure is illegal killing.

Lancashire Police and the RSPB are appealing for any information that could reveal the fate of these rare upland birds of prey.

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The reward, which has been put up by the RSPB, is for any information that leads to a conviction.

The first of the birds disappeared from its nest three weeks ago from the United Utilities Bowland Estate and a further two males on active nests have not been seen since Thursday, April 30.

In the case of the first nest, a young male arrived almost immediately and took the place of the vanished bird, thereby securing the safety of the eggs. The other two nests were not so fortunate; in the absence of males to provide them with food, the females were forced to abandon their eggs resulting in the failure of both nests.

Hen harriers are England’s most threatened breeding bird of prey with only four successful nests in the whole country last year, two of which were on the United Utilities Bowland Estate.

Martin Harper, RSPB conservation director, said: “Hen harriers are hanging on by a thread in England and the disappearances of the past few weeks have made a desperate situation even worse.

“We don’t know what has happened, but we will find out and save our hen harriers. This is an awful setback, but it will not stop us.

“Over the last few days I’ve spoken to numerous staff and volunteers who are devastated but these events only strengthen our resolve to save this beautiful bird.”

With the number of breeding birds so low, the RSPB has said that the failure of the two nests will have a serious impact on the hen harrier’s future in England.

The disappearance of the birds leaves just one active nest remaining in the Bowland Estate, putting the future of hen harriers even further in jeopardy.

The United Utilities Bowland Estate has long been the last remaining stronghold of the English hen harrier.