Irish Hen Harrier Winter Survey - November 2016

At this time of year, it is awesome and inspiring to see Hen Harriers congregate together at communal roosts. To know that your recording of the roost watches is going directly towards informing the Irish Hen Harrier Winter Survey gives as much pleasure and satisfaction as watching the birds - especially for those who really care about conservation and the future prospects for the species in Ireland. This is more than just bird watching.

I undertake roost watches for the survey coordinator Dr. Barry O'Donoghue and I, along with a number of other hardy souls, have been watching Hen Harriers for the past 8 winters in the Kerry/Cork/Limerick border area - mountain, bogs and rivers country.

Throughout this season so far, things have been fairly slow, but the past week or so have seen an influx of Hen Harriers to my roosts (possibly from outside of Ireland?). In the three main sites that I watch, I have seen a total of 17 birds in the past few days! At one site, there were at least 11 harriers. Awesome and inspiring as I say and a honour to witness.

Female Hen Harrier inspecting her roost at the November IHHWS roost watch

Watching the harriers pass around together over the bogs on these winter evenings makes me forget almost everything from the day of work or normal everyday happenings. However I am often jerked back to reality with the realisation that these sites are all experiencing different threats and pressures and a number of sites that I used to see harriers at are no longer occupied. Ironically one of the threats in recent times seems to be from 'birders' who have been exposing the location of a roost by their words and actions. While some sites can suit wider public attention and public knowledge, it is imperative that the sanctity and confidentiality of most roosts is upheld (especially in areas where Hen Harriers have been shot) and that people claiming to be in it for the birds actually consider their actions and impacts. Even well meaning people can inadvertently disturb these sensitive birds - especially when no care is taken to maintain a low profile (standing out in the middle of the roost is obviously not a good idea!). Harriers have enough problems as it is!

I look forward to continuing to contribute to the Irish Hen Harrier Winter Survey as I have been for many years and deriving pleasure from watching the birds, and also from the knowledge that my records are informing a broader picture as to what is happening to the Hen Harrier population in Ireland.

The Hen Harrier Diaries: Final Entry

The Hen Harrier Diaries: Final Entry

Work on the Hen Harrier Diaries commenced on the 28th of February, nearly six months later it has finally come to a conclusion it has been a disappointing year to say the least, with only two of our six pairs managing to rear young (with four chicks reared in total).

Below is a summary of the pairs.

Pair 1. Penny.

Penny set a high standard in 2015 rearing three chicks, a remarkable achievement for her first breeding attempt, this year she faced many obstacles from human disturbance (someone who clearly doesn't have any consideration or knowledge for wildlife taking photographs and clearly disturbing the mother who should have been tending to her chicks), bad weather to forestry work taking place in close proximity to her nest. But against all odds this amazing bird managed to rear two chicks this year, the young harriers have now dispersed to explore the world, we wish them well and hopefully someday they will return and rear chicks of their own.

Pair 2. Heather's Mom and Dad.
As reported in previous updates our hunch was in fact correct, Heather's Mom and Dad were not successful in their breeding attempt this year. We believe they failed in the first weeks of early chick stage, with predation was the most likely cause. The odds are really stacked against this pair with the majority of their territory now a green desert of sitka spruce. This vast area of forestry is home to numerous predators and is forcing the birds to travel huge distances to forage. This sustained absence is when the young chicks are vulnerable to predators and is heartbreaking to watch. It is clearly no fault of the birds, and with a bit of luck this pair can be more successful next year.

Pair 3.The Glen Nesters.
It seems the intrusion from other Hen Harriers changed the minds of this pair and they abandoned their breeding attempt early in the season, while the male remained in the territory for several weeks it appears all the activity proved too much for the female and she abandoned early on. This was really a disappointing turn of events for this pair as they have been one of our most productive pairs over the last number of years, lets hope 2017 can be a better year for the specialists.

Pair 4.
It turned out to be a brilliant year for this pair, they managed to rear two chicks and both were females, despite deciding to nest less than 50 feet from active turf cutting (this is their second year rearing young in the same location, with turf cutting active both years). These chicks were the first to fledge in 2016 and they remained in the area for several weeks before finally deciding to venture into the world on their own, lets hope they stay safe and one day they return.

Pair 5.
Unfortunately this pair also didn't make it this year, we can't say for sure but predation was the most likely reason for failing, this pair also have little or no choice to nest near mature sitka spruce plantation and face a gigantic challenge to rear young every year. This is very disappointing for this pair after such a successful year last year, lets hope they stay safe over the winter and return next year to give breeding another go next year.

Pair 6.
This pair are similar to the other three pairs that didn't make it, and a clear pattern is obvious in all cases: sitka spruce/parents away from nests/predation. This has become an all too common occurrence. Pair 6 didn't have their best year in their debut year in the Hen Harrier Diaries, they also didn't make it across the line, we believe they they failed at the early chick stage, lets hope they return next year and have a better time of it.


For the young Harriers born this year they are now exploring the world on their own and face the biggest challenge of their short lives surviving their first winter, hopefully the will grace our skies on the hills again next spring. It's now onto the The Irish Hen Harrier Winter survey where we will keep you updated along the way, you can contribute directly to the conservation of the Hen Harrier by reporting any sighting of a Hen Harrier to harriers@ahg.gov.ie.


                                                                                                                  Thank You
                                                                                                            Hen Harrier Ireland.

Hen Harrier Diaries: Entry No. 7

The Hen Harriers from the Hen Harrier Diaries have been working vigorously over the last few weeks to provide sufficient food for their young chicks, unfortunately it has not been all plain sailing for three of our pairs.

Pair 1. Penny.

Penny and her male companion are going from strength to strenght and are kept extremely busy providing for their young chicks, at this moment in time it's unclear exactly how many chicks Penny has or what stage they are at, we do know that Penny is still not sharing the workload of providing food for the chicks and spends the majority of her time at the nest, it could well be that her chicks are still relatively young or it could be that the male ( he is a super male ) is providing a sufficient amount of prey for Penny to remain at the nest with her young, hopefully we will have news of fledglings for the next update.

Pair 2. Heather's Mom and Dad.

Things are not looking good for Heather's Mom and Dad it's looks like they may not have been successful in their breeding attempt this year, previous watches have not provided us with any activity around their territory and both male and female have not been seen since our last update, we will monitor the situation over the coming days and weeks and hopefully we will have some positive news on the pair for the next update.

Pair 3. The Glen Nesters.

There is an element of mystery and uncertainty surrounding and specialists, their tranquil Glen has been the subject of intruders (other harriers) since the start of the breeding season,and as believed in previous updates that the female was incubating eggs, we are now almost certain that she is not incubating eggs and has possibly abandoned her breeding attempt before it ever started, the last sighting of the female was on the 27 of april and there has been no sighting of the male in weeks, it's possible with all this activity in her territory that she decided to abandoned this year's breeding attempt in this territory,maybe they have tried their luck somewhere nearby, we will continue to search the surrounding area and we will keep you updated on our findings.

Pair 4.

This pair chicks are not far off fledging, and both male and female are kept extremely busy providing food for their chicks,this is absolutely brilliant news for this pair as in previous years their chicks have always been the last to fledge, they clearly are on top of their game this year, hopefully we will have news of the first chicks fledged from Hen Harrier Diaries 2016 for the next update.

Pair 5.

It's highly probable that pair 5 have been unsuccessful with this year's breeding attempt, as with pairs 2 and 3 there has been little or no activity around the nest over the last few weeks, we have witnessed a male in the vicinity a few times but he was showing no interest in the nest, both the male and female were seen flying together on the 16th of June about one kilometre away from the nest this was ominous sign, as with the other pairs we will monitor  the situation closely and keep you updated on developments. 

Pair 6.

As we have been focusing the majority of our time trying to establish the exact status and whereabouts of pairs two three and five, we haven't dedicated as much time on pair 6 we would have liked however we can report that as of last week the female was still present at her nest and was seen defending it from Hooded Crow, we will focus all our attention on this pair over the coming days and we will keep you updated.

                                                                                                         Thank You 

                                                                                                   Hen Harrier Ireland 

 

Hen Harrier Diaries: Entry No. 6

After an extremely busy few months we have finally decided on the six pairs we are going to follow for the Hen Harrier Diaries 2016, the six pairs are all situated in territories from the Stacks to Mullaghariek Mountains Special Protection Area for Hen Harriers, after a few anxious moments at the start of the breeding season all six pairs settled down and are well on their way with their breeding attempt with the females either incubating eggs and some even have young chicks.

Introducing the pairs:

Pair 1. Penny.

The young female from the 2015 Hen Harrier Diaries, Penny had an outstanding season last year rearing three beautiful young Hen Harriers, and again this year she is off to a flyer, she has chosen to nest relatively close to last year's nest and is in close proximity to a mature sitka spruce plantation, this is a treacherous location with an abundance of predators lurking nearby, she is currently incubating eggs and we believe she might have at least one chick, the male is now either landing in the nest with food or dropping it straight into the nest this is a good indication that they might be young in the nest.

Pair 2. Heather's Mom and Dad.

It's wonderful to see this pair back again this year for another attempt at breeding, hopefully they can produce something the same as last year. These two are really making us work hard to find the exact nest location, hopefully for the next update we will have the nest located and maybe even news of chicks in the nest. 

Pair 3. The Glen Nesters.

These two are professionals at rearing young, rearing three chicks last year, they have again chosen the secluded Glen as their preferred nesting location, the secluded Glen was thrown into chaos at the start of the breeding season with another male and female present, the resident male had to use every ounce of energy to show his unwanted guests who the king of this Glen was, all is peaceful now in the Glen, and the female is now incubating eggs while the male is kept busy keeping a watchful eye over his territory and providing his female with food.

Pair 4.

This pair have again decided to nest in the same location as the previous two years, it's an area where turf cutting is active, last year they reared one chick. Two pairs were active here at the start of the breeding season and we could possible have two pairs, hopefully we will have more information on the second pair for next update, the female of the resident pair is currently incubating eggs, the male is kept busy supplying food for the female and defending his territory from any intruders.

Pairn 5.

After an outstanding breeding season last year rearing 3 Beautiful chicks pair 5 are back again this year, hopefully they can produce the same result again result as last year, they have again decided to nest close to last years nest on a steep slope of gorse and heather, this female is also incubating eggs while the male is extremely busy evicting other males from a neighbouring territories out of his territory.

Pair 6.

This is a new pair to the Hen Harrier Diaries, they nest in a territory that has records of Hen Harriers breeding as far back as 1955, their preferred nesting location is also a steep Glen covered in heather bramble and bog myrtle, they had an excellent year last year rearing 4 chicks, after a few anxious moments at the start of the breeding season when the female had not returned, she finally returned to take her place alongside the male and is now incubating eggs, the is male is keeping a close eye on proceedings, returning with food and occasionally to check that all is well in his domain.

The Hen Harrier Diaries: Entry No. 5

The Hen Harrier breeding season is now in full swing, with birds occupying all four territories checked over the last week.

One of the sites checked was the territory of Penny the young female from the Hen Harrier Diaries 2015, Penny and her male companion are now both present, with the male affectionately following her every move, the male is doing everything he can ti impress Penny with some spectacular sky dancing and so far she seems to be impressed.

The second site that was checked has produced some anxious moments during previous watches, this is the site where records of Harriers breeding date back as far as 1955 ( as reported in the Hen Harrier Diaries: Entry No 4) it was a huge relief to finally see both male and female present, hopefully they can now settle down and continue the long tradition of Harriers breeding here.

On our arrival at the 3rd site we had two males and a female circling simultaneously. With one male departing the region the remaining birds were then able to concentrate on the job at hand, with the remaining male caring for the females every need, returning from a hunting foray with a Bank Vole tantalising the anxious female with food parcel, with the male hanging on to the prey for several minutes the female grew impatient and tried to wrestle the prey from the male's grasp, he eventually gave in to the female's request to release the prey. Hopefully we will have reports of  them nest building in our next update.

Elsewhere we checked a site that didn't have a breeding attempt last year, hopefully that will change this year, with both male and female occupying the territory at present, with both male and female checking out potential nesting sites hopefully they can soon find a suitable area for nesting.

                                                         Stay tuned for further updates.

                                                                        Thank you

                                                                  Hen Harrier Ireland.

Farming and Hen Harriers – from the ground up.

 

 

Lets start with why, and lets finish with the solution that we want.

 

Why are Hen Harriers one of the rarest and most endangered species in Ireland?             

Their habitats have been lost and damaged across large areas. Their prey base has been decimated (for the loss of every single Hen Harrier, there will have been thousands of other birds that depend on the same habitat lost). Even within the special protection areas, more than half of what would have been their best habitat (moorland and grassland) have been subsumed by non-native commercial plantations. The quality of habitat that remains in the open areas if more often than not, of a poor quality. This industrial scale loss of natural and semi habitat has seen the loss of many of Ireland’s most loved birds including Curlew, Red Grouse, Skylark, Cuckoo and of course the indicator of the health of the ecosystem – the Hen Harrier.

 

Why has the habitat been lost?

The loss of habitat has followed a loss of the low intensity type of farming that existed for hundreds of years. This type of farming is difficult to maintain as economically viable. For the past 4 decades, the government and private foresters have pushed forestry grants to small farmers - cash to plant their land with non-native conifer trees. These industrial type plantations are the absolute opposite of what many native Irish wildlife species require and they are soon lost from the area. Of course the grant for planting the land is only for a limited period (15 years), but the land is forever lost to farming and indeed forever lost to memory. What often happens is that in an ageing population, when the farmer passes on, the land is inherited by someone who is not living on the land or who has a desire to continue farming on what is difficult land, with relatively low financial return. The past 4 decades have seen massive rural decline in these areas. Commercial forestry has clearly not been the answer to stemming the loss of people from marginal upland areas. Moreover, it has paralleled the loss of people and farming.

For those that do stay to farm the land, they try to compete in the same market as the guys that are able to produce hundreds of large animals on more agriculturally productive land. Those guys have far lower input costs, while the farmers on the more marginal uplands have higher input costs, struggling with heavier soils, higher rainfall, rushes, scrub, etc. In some ways, it is like a two-tier league of agricultural production, where there are the elite clubs who will always top the table given the resources available to them, and those that are struggling to stay up. In trying to compete with “the big boys”, habitats are lost and damaged on marginal upland farms – species rich fields are reseeded, scrub is cleared out, stocking rates are increased – all with resultant loss of biodiversity. However, if one takes a step back – is it actually sustainable for those farmers struggling to stay up? In what are volatile markets, where the price of milk or beef can drop below levels that are economically safe even for “the big boys” in Ireland, the amount of time and energy and money that farmers in the uplands are investing into their farms would not be advised by pure economists. Farmers are not economists. Farmers want to farm. They want to farm because of the love of being out there, on their land. They love being out in the open, walking and working in their fields, seeing the fruits of their labour, looking after their stock, etc. They love the tradition. They would love to pass the farm from one generation to the next. If they were in it for the quick buck – they would have sold out to the forestry grants a long time ago. However, it would be foolish to suggest that these farmers are blinded by their love of farming and that they don’t see the financial side of what is happening. They see it more than anyone as they are living it. Just about all these farmers work full time jobs elsewhere so that they can make ends meet.

 

So, what’s the solution?

Under the Rural Development Plan, there are supports available to farmers to maintain viability, including incentives to support ecosystems, maintain habitats and protect wildlife. Farmers in Hen Harrier areas are ranked as a priority group for entry to GLAS. In addition, a new Locally Led Agri-Environment Scheme (LLAES) is expected to come into place for farmers in Hen Harrier areas. This scheme is intended to deliver results above and beyond what GLAS will achieve and to be honest for the Hen Harrier it is very much needed as GLAS does not appear to have the ability to turn things around for a species that is in drastic decline. For commentators that wrongly have notions that the locally led scheme is some form of compensation for designation, they should realise that this commentary is misleading and unhelpful. If the schemes are seen as anything other than money to farmers to support habitats and species, the chance of failure is high. If the habitats and birds are lost – what are the chances of getting this money in future, where there are no habitats and birds? The monies are targeted towards where the habitats and species exist. While the farmers are not economists, they understand exactly how important agri-environment scheme money is to their farm income and an environment of appreciation should be fostered to ensure this money delivers on what it is paid for, and so can continue to come in.

 

A future with balanced choices

In effect, this is the start of a move towards incentivising farmers in marginal areas to operate in a third market – not forestry (whereby farming ceases on that land), not trying to keep up with the big boys (which will ultimately be a losing game), but a High Nature Value market whereby the farmers are incentivised to continue or reinstate the practices that made or makes their area so important for biodiversity and a range of public goods from carbon to water to scenery. Farmers want to farm and agri-environmental farming may be the best fit and most sustainable option for many farmers in the long run. There is a very long way to go, to make sure the markets are balanced, to make sure that the farmers are being offered three evenly weighted options and not being forced down a particular route that would otherwise not be their preferred choice.

 

 

 

 

 

Hen Harrier Diaries: Entry No. 4

Saturday saw 5 different sites covered.

It was more like a winter Roost watch at one of the sites as the hailstones and snow came falling down. The resident male and female rested up in the white blizzard and waited until it abated. To fly around and get unduly wet would hinder their flight. When the weather dried up, it became lovely and sunny, with blue skies above. The pair flew around together closely, touching wings and landed together. This is behaviour that suggests they will nest very close by.

However, things aren't always so straightforward! A second male visited the pair in their peaceful Valley and the three flew around together. Does the female have a decision to make?
It may well be that the second male was from a neighbouring territory where his own female has not been seen, we are getting anxious that this territory which has been watched from as far back as 1955 may be vacant/become extinct. However we still hold out and will continue observations there.
Elsewhere at another traditional site there has also been anxious moments during previous watches, the female from this pair also was nowhere to be seen, thankfully Saturday this all changed with both male and Female present, they collaborated to oust two Ravens out of their territory, with the Male sky dancing in a territorial display to show the Raven's who the boss was , the female relentlessly harassed the Ravens until eventually they had enough and left the Harriers territory, hopefully the pair can soon settle down concentrate on their breeding attempt.

Also checked on Saturday was a site that previously had four Harriers present, and it was great to have all four birds still present on Saturday. The two males have really raised their game, with one enthusiastic male soaring in fierce shower of hailstone in an attempt to impress of the female's, the other male also did his very best to impress the females, with his excellent hunting skills, hunting in heavy snow and hail, all this activity from the males appeared to impress the females with both of them checking out potential nesting sites, hopefully they will soon pair off.

 The fifth site checked Saturday didn't have a successful breeding attempt last year, but there are encouraging signs so far this year, with birds present on both occasions the site was checked, Saturday we had two males circling each other, checking each other out and saying hello, next time let's hope there is a female present and that she settles down with one of the males.

Stay tuned for further updates.
Thank you,
Hen Harrier Ireland

Hen Harrier Diaries: Entry No. 3

Hen Harrier Diaries: Entry No 3

The spectacular Hen Harrier breeding season was in full flow again today. The warm air and gentle breeze helped the birds soar to astonishing heights. Two traditional breeding sites in Kerry were checked today.

One of the breeding sites checked today is very special, it is the birth place of a very special bird 'Heather'. Today's watch was similar to a previous watch from Entry 1, for 2 hrs there was nothing seen just as the watch was about to ...come to a conclusion a Hooded Crow alerted me to the females presence, he scrambled over a kilometre to confront the on rushing female, he soon gave up his quest when he realised the enormous size of this female, she gracefully went about her business gliding elegantly towards her awaiting male companion, on her arrival the excited male immediately set off in a sky dance reaching 80 peaks, the female then decide to take to the sky's herself, taking full advantage of the warm thermals soaring to extreme heights, it was an immensely enjoyable way to spend 2.5 hours.

The second site checked today had been one of the most productive nesting sites over the last number of year's. The Male at this site gave an excellent display of sky dancing reaching 110 peaks, his Female counterpart did not show herself today, but there was encouraging signs that she was not too far away, the Male sky danced directly over a bunch of willow and returned several time and perched on the willow maybe signaling the Female was present , hopefully she will reveal herself next time.
Stay tuned for various updates over the coming days.

Thank you Hen Harrier Ireland

Hen Harrier Diaries: Entry No. 2

Today saw the Hen Harrier season well and truly get off the mark with the first food pass witnessed for 2016. This stage of the season is arguably one of the most important of all. The body condition of the females will determine how many eggs they will lay in about a months time. If the female is not receiving much food, physiology will lessen the number of eggs – maybe only 3-4 eggs. If she is receiving good quantities (and quality) of food, she might lay 5 or 6 eggs. This is a natural adaptation that follows good logic – no point in trying to rear many chicks if the signs are that food is low, but if food is high then it would be worth capitalising on this and laying more eggs in the hope of rearing more chicks.

The Hen Harrier’s food pass is one of the finest spectacles in all of nature. The male will come in with the food, often holding it low in one leg so that it is clearly visible to his mate. There will be some communication between the male and female and she will rise up underneath him in the sky, turn over and he will drop the food for her to catch in her talons while upside down! She will then take the food and eat if for herself or take it to the nest when she has chicks. It is an acrobatic feat that is unrivalled, though two trapeze artists perfectly moving in synchrony to meet one another is one way of describing what it is like (only better!!).

So we saw that today at one site, which was wonderful. We are now off the mark.

Elsewhere, at another site we had a male sky dancing to see off a hooded crow. It is popularly considered that the Hen Harrier’s sky dance (see Hen Harrier Diaries Entry No. 1 or the video on www.henharrierireland.blogspot.ie) is to show off to potential suitors, but it is likely to also be a territorial display to show other birds (including other male harriers and possible trouble like crows) that the male is strong and agile and this is his turf! The sky dance of the male today made an absolute fool of the hooded crow. He was bamboozled by the agility of the male harrier and after a while did not know which way was up, as the male soared above him and dived below him so many times. He simply could not keep up with the Hen Harrier. However, he did persist in trying to attack the harrier for 15 minutes straight before finally giving up and leaving. The male’s mate then appeared and soared for some time high in the sky. The crows of course have not gone away and there may be more to come from them as the season progresses. They are often a lot of trouble for Hen Harriers as they attempt to go about their business and can take the harrier’s eggs and chicks also.

3 traditional sites that were checked today showed no signs of Hen Harriers. This has become too common an occurrence. We will continue to monitor these sites in the hope that Hen Harriers might some how show up.

As the evening drew to a close, we were lucky enough to be treated to the sight of four Hen Harriers together at one sight. Hopefully these four will progress to be two pairs (there has traditionally been two pairs in the locality). Lots of soaring high in the sky was witnessed. One of the males was carrying food but did not pass it to any female. This may have been in an attempt to hardwire into the female’s minds that this male, above the other male, is the guy that carries food. Treat them mean and keep them keen?!

One of the females perched on a turf heap for 40 minutes and was surprisingly buzzed by a male Merlin! Merlins are Ireland’s smallest bird of prey and share similar habitats to Hen Harriers with heather moorland being the preferred environment. Wonderful birds to see.
Another wonderful bird to see in this environment is the Curlew and we had our first of the season today at the same site. These birds have become very rare. Like Hen Harriers, their decline is indicating a malaise in the upland environment; particularly due to afforestation, predation and agricultural intensification.

If you have any Hen Harrier sightings or records this spring/summer, we would be delighted to hear from you – but please do not publically disclose locations.

Keep in touch and watch out for the next instalment of the Hen Harrier Diaries!

Photograph by Highlandwildlifephotography

Hen Harrier Diaries 2016. Entry No. 1

Sky Dancing Male Hen Harrier (photo David Palmer)

 

This is a wonderful time of the year if you want to enjoy watching Hen Harriers. It is when they perform their courtship displays, known as the sky dance. Really, words cannot do this aerial display justice, and even videos like this (https://vimeo.com/145538958) really can't live up to witnessing full blown sky dancing!

Today saw some wonderful sky dancing at a site in Kerry where a pair of Hen Harriers succesfully bred in 2015. For 1.5 hour...s, there was nothing to be seen, when as if from nowhere a male appeared on the scene. He performed a most remarkable sky dance, with 170 peaks and troughs - an amazing display of agility and stamina. Surely this impressed his mate and she soon came into the picture following the superstar on the dance floor! We all hope they do well this season. It is a long way to late July when we hope they will have reared chicks; fingers crossed!

At another site, it was a somewhat different story. The male was present alright, but there was no sign of his female. He sky danced and sky danced, exerting a massive amount of energy in hope that the female he bred with last year might see him and hopefully attach to him again this season. She did not show and while it is still early days, we are a little concerned that this may be yet another traditional breeding site that will lose a breeding pair. The nest was predated in 2015 and the female was not seen thereafter. Let's all hope that this is not the case and that the male's efforts will eventually pay off handsomely.

We will continue to keep our followers up to date with various news throughout the season.
All the best for the breeding season ahead!

Heather – One Year On

 

 
Because of the direct and indirect impacts humans have on nature (for better and for worse), because of how we would prefer humans interacted with nature, or because of the experiences and memories that we gain from nature, we often tend to consider nature from ‘our perspective’. It is seldom that we look at nature and that our contemplation of what we see doesn’t fall under one of the aforementioned categories; 1. “I’m sad at the loss of habitat” or “I’m delighted to see the maintenance of habitat”, 2. “I wish people would have more consideration for habitats and species” or 3. “I really enjoyed watching all those starlings over the reedbed”.

Those who love nature will automatically be drawn into the situation from a personal perspective – perhaps it is human nature and in all ways, that is a good thing. But perhaps a bit more, we should go beyond what “I” see, what “I” wish or what “I” got out of being with nature. How often do we think about what nature itself sees, wishes or experiences?

So, out of respect to nature, this blog entry will not recount what Heather, the satellite tracked Hen Harrier gave to “us” in terms of joy following her progress or information in terms of her travels, habitat use, new roosts and much more, nor will it go into the obvious devastation that was felt at the time or her persecution (which is still felt today) or public outcry and support for Hen Harriers that followed. Instead, it will focus on what Heather would have seen, experienced and wished.

 

Heather was born and reared in the Summer of 2013, with her four siblings in a heather covered nest, nestled on the slope of a ravine, with a young river flowing below. Her mother would shelter and protect the young, very closely in the first couple of weeks until they grew their feathers and became capable of self thermo-regulating and feeding themselves on the food that their mother and father would bring. Heather’s father was a particularly good provider and did the majority of the provisioning for the five young, as well as for Heather’s mother in the early weeks of the summer.

One day, while both of Heather’s parents were away, the peace of nest was interrupted by two men who walked in and took Heather and her sister (Sally) from the nest and fitted them both with satellite tags before putting them back into the nest immediately afterwards. Heather’s parents returned to the nest none the wiser, but they and the young birds, must surely have been wondering what that small device on their backs were.

When the time came, Heather and her siblings began to fly. For the first month, the family unit stayed around the general nest area, making great use of the heather moorland so that the young could rise and attempt food passes from their parents (with occasional fumbles forgiven by the fact they could re-find any dropped food on the ground). Heather was now beginning to see the wider world, beyond the heather covered nest where up until then all she knew was the sky and her family. She could see for miles and miles from the top of the mountain where she was reared. She could even see the Atlantic Ocean. Heather did what was natural, and she flew. She began to explore, and in a big way. She travelled in a north-easterly direction through Munster, towards Kildare, Wicklow and Dublin. Dublin was obviously a world away from the little ravine, heather moorland and mountain streams where she had been reared – she would have seen the City, in fact flown over it. She turned for more natural habitat and called the heather moorland of the Dublin and Wicklow Mountains home for a number of weeks. After some time, the natural desire for the young harrier to travel saw her head north, to Meath. There one morning, she rose from her roost and standing in the field was a man with a pair of binoculars looking at her. Onwards, north to Louth and Armagh. Heather roosted on the shore of Lough Neagh, the biggest lake in Ireland. She did not delay there however, and made the amazing non-stop journey in a reverse southerly direction, from Lough Neagh to South Cork. Hundreds of kilometres later, she arrived by the cliffs and roosted on some coastal heath, surrounded by tillage farmland where she could find plentiful food and a safe place to rest. It is possible that she found this patch of land, hundreds of kilometres from where she had been, by following an adult female Hen Harrier who had coloured tags on her back. Heather called this home for a number of months, cruising around the tillage fields by day and roosting by night to the sound of Chough, Gulls and crashing waves. From these older birds, Heather would have learned of good hunting places and safe places to spend each night. Again, there was every so often a man watching Heather with binoculars.

 

A new year came. 2014 saw Heather visit the Nagle Mountains and then West Waterford. Come breeding time, she was in the Ballyhouras and hung around with an established pair. She did not breed that summer, but instead travelled through various counties to make it to Mayo. Heather's roost sites in and around Ballycroy National Park and Castlebar provided some super habitat in terms of heather, rough grassland, hedgerows and scrub. It was a beautiful summer and Heather's surrounds provided ample resources. Every so often, Heather would have seen a man with a pair of binoculars.

 

With the summer finished and the days shortening, Heather decided to retrace her steps and visit the exact same sites in Cork as she had spent the previous winter. However, after some time, she made the bold move back to her native Kingdom - this time South Kerry. There, she would have every so often seen a man with a pair of binoculars watch her as she and other harriers settled into roost each evening to see out the night in what they would have seen as a safe haven. She overlooked the spectacular Skelligs and even roosted on an offshore island for some time. One day, she decided to take a short break from South Kerry and returned home to the exact spot where she was reared. Back to the heather clad hills and that mountain ravine. Even after all her journeys, she knew where home was at all times.

 

However, her return home was short and Heather soon travelled back to South Kerry again, a return to the hills for an attempt at finding a mate, would have to wait a short while until spring of 2015 arrived. One evening, Heather returned back to her roost, back to her safe haven and the other harriers she had come to recognize on a daily basis. There was a man watching, but this time it was not a man with binoculars and good intentions, it was a man with a gun. Whether he could be called a man is debatable however, as the coward pointed the barrel at the innocent harrier and pulled the trigger. Ended. Life Ended. All that Heather had seen, experienced and wished for was ended. The heather clad hills and the mountain ravine, the Dublin Mountains, the shores of Lough Neagh, the cliffs of South Cork the bogs of Mayo and all lands in between and further away, could no longer be visited by Heather and her presence could no longer add to the landscape or add depth to the scene.

 

The little device that those two men fitted to Heather and he sister Sally allowed Heather to be found, to allow her story when alive and dead to be known. So ultimately perhaps, after learning considering what Heather would have seen in her life (and you are urged to look back through this blog on Heather and Sally's full story as well as much more), we need to shine the light back on ourselves and again revert to what we wish to see, experience and influence. Habitat continues to be destroyed, for Hen Harriers and for all the native wildlife species that they are an indicator of. Human attitudes continue to differ – with more people growing indifferent to the plight of nature in Ireland, and at the same time more people growing to care for the plight of nature in Ireland. So if there is anything you can do to help more people care about wildlife in Ireland to move the trend in the right direction, then do it. Engage people with the outdoors. Fully educate yourself as to what is good and what is bad in terms of landscape and habitat change and consider what the custodians of the landscape need to continue maintaining habitats, rather than being pushed down a road of intensification or abandonment. Make that difference! But every so often, at the back of it all, have a think as to what the wildlife we so dearly love is experiencing.

 

 

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

North Cork is one of the most densely afforested regions in Ireland ( many other regions have also experienced the same level of afforestation ). This region of North Cork ( Mullaghareirk Mts ) was once a stronghold of the Curlew,Hen Harrier, Red Grouse Corncrake,Skylark and Meadow pipit. The Hen Harrier has suffered massive decline in their population and only a few pairs remain,the Skylark and Meadow pipit also suffered a substantial decline, the Curlew, Red Grouse and Corncrake have long vanished from the landscape. The bogs and meadows where these birds once thrived are today unrecognizable with the majority of them planted with non-native sitka spruce. 

North Cork 1973

North Cork 2016 ( exact location as picture above )

The policy of planting these lands for the last thirty or forty years was simply not the answer, with the natural heritage experiencing enormous changes. For generations farmers worked vigorously to maintain and provide this pristine habitat, and is crucial they remain working and maintaining these high nature value lands for the survival of the remaining species                                                                                        

Family on there way to the well ( 1973 )  North Cork

Well today totally engulfed in sitka spruce ( 2016 ) North Cork

There was also considerable changes to social heritage of the region, with the elderly who farmed these lands fervently all there lives who witnessed the greatest changes, and have many a story to tell of days gone by, from days in the bog with bottles of cold tea and hard boiled eggs with only the Curlew and its lingering cry for company and days in the meadow making haycocks a real family day out, hot summers nights and the call of the Corncrake, the stories of the white hawk ( Hen Harrier ) gliding majestically over the rolling hills before suddenly disappearing out of sight, stories of ramblers discussing the hard days work telling yarns and the all important game of cards, sadly today many of these are just memories

The farmers that do remain do so because they refuse to give up on generations of hard work and grafting on a challenging landscape, landowners and farmers are again been encouraged to plant their land with commercial forestry, some believe that they would be "better off" encouraged to give up on generation of their families hard work.

These farmers and families are vital to the biodiversity and the culture of rural Ireland its imperative we do not lose them.