Blackwater Retrieved and Lessons Learned

After seven years of being a member of the RNLI Lifeboats and the local Sea and Cliff Rescue team, it never gets easy looking for bodies. Yesterday, in looking for Blackwater's body (when her tag began to transmit data after 20 days offline), this was as difficult as any search that I have taken part in, given I knew her so well, having been able to watch her grow from a small ball of fluff on a heather moorland in Duhallow to become a beautiful brown, cinnamon & white glider. On one hand I wanted to find her. Finding her may give insight as to how and why she died and the tag could be retrieved, but most of all, there is a strong bond that compels you to find her, for all she was and for all she represents. On the other hand, seeing her dead is the last thing that I wanted to encounter.

Her PTT (satellite tag) had shown she was somewhere east of the Boggeragh Mountains in County Cork. Using a ground tracking device, and my dog Mel, we set about homing in on the tag location, in fiercely difficult scrub and swamp. Finally, we found Blackwater's remains, with the tag still attached. Only bones and feathers remained of what was once such an inspiring and awesome creature.

Blackwater's journey. The mid way point (with the red line) is the last time her PTT transmitted data while she was alive. Just 3 days later she was dead, her final resting place 53km SE of where she was born.

She had travelled most of the Blackwater Valley and departed from the world and a future with a possibility of seeing her flying, sky dancing, food passing, rearing young on the Irish landscape, at an all too early stage in her life.

Sincere thanks to the kind farmer whose land Blackwater had died on and also to Mackessy's Vets in Newmarket for examining the remains with me. Thanks to all of you following the blog for your kind words and support for Hen Harriers.

Death is a natural occurrence. However, this is happening to Hen Harriers in Ireland on a scale that is beyond sustainable, particularly when one considers how few young are being produced every year in the first place. Every year harriers are being lost from the Irish landscape. Young harriers fitted with the very same tags and technique in England and Scotland have little difficulty with predation or finding food and establishing themselves in the landscape. See http://langholmmoorland.blogspot.co.uk/ to follow the progress of two young harriers in Scotland.

The only thing that we can console ourselves with from this study is that both Sky and Blackwater have done a great service to their species and have confirmed to us, just how difficult harriers are finding it to get a foothold on the Irish landscape. Out of c.180 harriers wing tagged in the Republic of Ireland since 2006, just four have been known to breed.  Sky and Blackwater did not have wing tags that may have been lost or gone unnoticed. Sky and Blackwater did not set up lives for themselves abroad and therefore remain unreported. It is most likely that of the 180 birds that have been wing tagged, the vast majority of those experienced the same fate as Blackwater and Sky.

When we know there is a problem, we can (and should) set about addressing the issues, primarily habitat related, because if Hen Harriers are lost from Ireland, they will likely be lost forever.

BOTH BLACKWATER AND SKY DEAD - an Insight into an Endangered Population of a Native Species

A Shocking headline.



The reality of what is happening to our Hen Harriers in Ireland. The reality of what is happening to our remaining, dwindling population of Hen Harriers in Ireland.

Sky and Blackwater flew the flag for their species. We wanted to see what is happening to our population, where do they go, what do they do? We wanted to see why so few wing tagged birds were returning to the population.Through this satellite tracking, we have gained a clearer picture as to why our population is decreasing, why Hen Harriers have been lost from so much Ireland. Even when against the odds, they manage to rear young to fledging, those fledglings are finding it very difficult to survive and may be dead within weeks of leaving the nest.



Blackwater as a nestling

Blackwater, our beautiful female, had made a bid to become independent of her parents and travelled along her native Blackwater Valley until she reached farmland near the village of Cullen, just north of Millstreet, Co. Cork. Her satellite tag has not transmitted for over two weeks now, indicating that she has most likely perished. To have watched this chick grow from the time she was just a ball of fluff in the nest with her brother and sister, to see the painstaking efforts to which her parents went to rear her, to see the potential she held to become a fully independent, stunning female harrier, and ambassador for her species; all to end in tragedy is heart breaking.

                                                                                                           Blackwater's Movements. Click to enlarge



Sky was found dead just 350 metres from his nest. There was a fox scat in his nest (a small patch of scrub surrounded by forestry) which may indicate predation as the cause of death (his body also lay close to a fox track), although lack of food is also a possibility given the light weight of his body when found.

Four young harriers were satellite tagged in England and Scotland this year by Stephen Murphy (who tagged Blackwater and Sky here in Ireland) using the very same tags and very same methods and all are performing brilliantly now as independent harriers. Hen Harriers in Ireland clearly have a more difficult start in life than elsewhere.


The worrying thing is, Sky’s parents and Blackwater’s parents cannot live forever and when young harriers are not surviving to take their place on the landscape, we lose our population and this has been happening for some time now.






Population Viability Analysis shows that the Irish Hen Harrier population is not reproducing enough to sustain itself.



1. The adult Hen Harriers are finding it difficult to find food.



Due to changes in the landscape that Hen Harriers have relied on for centuries (i.e. moorland, scrub and farmland -much of which has been destroyed, removed or forested), food is no longer as plentiful or as easy to catch. The Hen Harrier is not just a species in itself...because it depends on the smaller animals and birds for food, it is a mirror to the natural world which we can hold up and see how things are out there...if small animals and birds are doing well, Hen Harriers are doing well; if small animals and birds are doing poorly, Hen Harriers will suffer greatly…evidently things are rather poor in the uplands. People should be dissuaded from the excuse of poor weather in 2012 as a reason for decreased food resources, because territories experiencing the same weather patterns had greatly differing food resources, primarily related to habitat.



2. The parent Hen Harriers are spending longer away from the nests in search of food.



This means increased energy expenditure and weaker parents, lower food delivery rates to the nest, less eggs, less chicks, weaker chicks, less brooding of the chicks (for shelter, warmth and dryness) and increased chance of predation (while the parents are away trying to find food). This summer, we witnessed parent birds travelling massive distances over forestry before they even reached their hunting grounds and there were days when chicks may have received just one food item in a day, whereas they should have been receiving around 20 food items in a day. Many nests in Ireland did not rear any chicks at all this year due to lack of food and predation.



3.  The chicks, if and when they fledge, are finding it next to impossible to make it on their own.



If experienced adult birds are finding it difficult to catch food. How difficult must it be for an individual bird who has up until 3 weeks of having left its nest been provided for by its parents, and suddenly left to fend for itself and catch its own food? The deaths of Sky and Blackwater show just how perilous it is for young Hen Harriers in Ireland. One should be dissuaded from thinking “this is nature” because the landscape the Hen Harrier and many other upland bird species depends on has been highly fragmented and augmented to the stage where it is no longer natural and the odds are stacked against the survival of many of our native species. The untimely deaths of Sky and Blackwater should not be taken as isolated events. After years of wing tagging, it is estimated that four out of every five Hen Harriers in Ireland dies before it reaches its first birthday.

Hen Harrier Conservation

So, will we just leave it at that or continue to push for Hen Harrier conservation in Ireland? What does Hen Harrier conservation mean? It means whether we want to continue to experience the sight of sky dances or food passes, or softly gliding ringtails or silver males in our landscape. Again, the Hen Harrier is a mirror to the health of the upland landscape also. Many places have already lost their local Hen Harrier population and the small pockets that are left are now all the more important. An rud is annamh is iontach – that which is rare is wonderful.




The future of the Hen Harrier ultimately lies with all stakeholders, landowners and conservation groups interested preserving our natural heritage.

One way in which you as an individual can help is to take part in national research on the Hen Harrier, by submitting sightings or conducting roost watches. Anyone that is willing to contribute and to experience Hen Harriers is encouraged to contact home.of.harriers@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone who contributed to and wished this project well.

Blackwater and Sky

Blackwater and Sky are currently at their individual nest locations in Duhallow, being provisioned by their parents. We do not want to disclose the location of their nests, and there are still perils which they must overcome before fully fledging and making a life of their own. However, as soon as they begin making their way in life, you will be able to follow their travels and see their location on this website. Keep checking in with henharrierireland.blogspot.ie!


Blackwater - She's a lady!

The Blackwater is said to be the most beautiful river in Ireland. It flows through Duhallow and was chosen by a local schoolboy as a really nice name for the first Hen Harrier to be fitted with a satellite tracker as part of this project. Blackwater was born on a heather moorland and has two siblings, a younger brother and an older sister. She has already mastered the art of flying but is still reliant on her parents for food. She is a beautiful young bird with dark brown eyes. We wish her all the very best on her travels through life. Go n-éirí an bóthar léi!


Sky - He's the man!

The Hen Harrier is renowned for its famous Sky Dance courtship display. The male's are the main men for carrying out this awesomely impressive aerobatic display. So, some local school girls have christened the first male Hen Harrier to be satellite tracked as part of this project, Sky. Sky was born in a scrub area of rushes and bramble. He is currently in his nest being looked after by his parents, while his older brother and sister are now able to fly. He has striking smoky-grey eyes. We hope that some day, sky will turn into a fine silver adult male (like his father further down on this page), and of course perform some amazing sky dances in the spring and summer! Beir Bua!

Stay Tuned!

Hi All,

We will soon be following the satellite tracked Hen Harriers online, when they begin to make their way in life. Join as a member and please continue to check in for updates, add any comments or learn more about Hen Harriers in Ireland.

Slán tamall,
Hen Harrier Ireland

Local School Children Suggest Hen Harrier Names

Loads of entries came in for naming Hen Harrier chicks and it was a really difficult decision to make in choosing the best and most suitable. Finally, the names were chosen as follows:

Heather (after the Hen Harrier's natural habitat)

Diarmuid (after a Celtic legend who has links with many parts of Ireland, including a place on the Duhallow/Muskerry border named after Diarmuid where Hen Harriers previously bred)

Blackwater (after the most beautiful River Blackwater that flows through Duhallow and has Hen Harriers along its flow)

Sky (after the most spectacular feature of the Hen Harrier - the Sky Dance!)

Well done to all who suggested these names. Stay tuned! ;-)

Hen Harrier - Nature's Work of Art

Hen Harriers are among the most elegant, skillful and inspiring sights one could ever hope to see. Elegance, Skill and Inspiration are all values that are needed for good art. The best entries of the art that was received from primary schools in the Duhallow and Muskerry regions can be seen in the video below. All entries can be seen in the "Education" page of this website.

The Arrivals (2). The chicks are in the nests! We're getting close!

Nest 1

The mother leaves the nest to hunt for more food for the three chicks. © Barry O'Donoghue

 

This nest, set in heather, grass and gorse is quite amazing, even by the high standards set by Hen Harriers as to what is amazing!

From a hide just 30m away, I could see all the action in the nest, the three chicks gaining their feathers, the father and mother bringing in prey and brooding the young in times of mist or rain...it really is a sublime privilege to watch Hen Harriers. It is enthrawling to watch the siblings walk about, stretch their wings, have the odd brother-sister tiff and even have a tug-o-war with the food brought in by their parents! Please God they will all remain safe from predators, given their parents have to travel long distances over mature forestry before they reach suitable hunting grounds, thereby increasing the time during which the chicks are left on their own.

Nest 2

Two chicks only 2-3 days old and another chick is hatching from the egg to the right. © Barry O'Donoghue

There is also another egg in the nest. Hopefully all four will make it. They are much later than normal in their breeding attempt, perhaps as a result of the abnormal weather this Spring/Summer. The parents at this nest are really good providers so we have good hope.

Nest 3

The father is bringing in food to the nest. © Barry O'Donoghue

This guy is a super provider, the high rate at which he brings in food is a reflection of the fact that he has profitable hunting habitats (Willow bushes, Rough Grassland, Heather Bog, Hedgerows) in proximity to his nest.