'Gut-wrenching' blow as Forest of Bowland hen harrier chicks die (From Lancashire Telegraph)

'Gut-wrenching' blow as Forest of Bowland hen harrier chicks die

7:00pm Wednesday 19th August 2009 in News By Tyrone Marshall, Reporter

THE DEATHS of two hen harrier chicks in the Forest of Bowland have been described as a “gut-wrenching blow” to the area’s conservation programme.

RSPB Bowland officer Pete Wilson said everyone involved with the chicks had been left devastated.

He said a police investigation had been carried out and the deaths appeared to caused a small ground mammal, rather than anything sinister.

The chicks were discovered dead in the first week of August shortly after a seasonal warden, employed by land owners United Utilities, had left the position at the end of July.

Conservationists had questioned whether this had contributed to their deaths.

But the RSPB dismissed this notion and said a team of volunteers had been keeping a daily check on the nest.

Mr Wilson said: “We had concerns for the nest because it came very late in the season, which is unusual, and the female had been displaying worrying tendencies to be away from the nest for long periods of time.

“The circumstantial evidence is that these deaths were the result of natural predation.”

The Forest of Bowland is the top breeding ground in the country for hen harriers, one of England’s rarest birds of prey, and this year of the 10 pairs that nested in the country, seven were in Bowland “It has been a difficult year for hen harriers,” added Mr Wilson, “but this shouldn’t affect breeding seasons in the future.

“The United Utilities’ estate has more breeding pairs than anywhere else in the country, which is a direct result of partnerships between the company, police, RSPB and Natural England.”

The Bowland estate is considered the most important site for breeding hen harriers in England.

United Utilities has been working with the RSPB since the early 1980s to conserve the population, and the estate now regularly holds between six and 10 pairs every year, which can be between 50 and 90 per cent of the English population.

Ian Grindy, United Utilities Bowland estate manager, said: "It is always sad if a nest has been unsuccessful, but this one was vulnerable because it was so late in the season.

“The police and Natural England have found no evidence of persecution, and the chick deaths appear to be the result of natural predation.”