Harriers common in Canada ~ almost extinct in England

Photo by Dave Kemp

NORTHERN HARRIER

Circus cyaneus

Photo: Gert-Jan IJzerman / Alamy

The Northern Harrier  is fairly common in Canada and the US.  But in England, where the bird is known as the Hen Harrier, there are just four breeding pairs left, which puts this bird on the brink of extinction.   Pairs in Scotland, a traditional stronghold,  fell from 505 to 460 between 2010 and 2016. while in Wales they declined from 57 to 35 breeding pairs.   In Northern Ireland, pairs fell from 59 in 2010 to 46 in 2016.  The photo at top shows a male harrier, taken by Dave Kemp on the lower British Columbia mainland in Canada.   The second photo, of a female, was taken by Gert-Jan Ijzerman, in Flevoland, The Netherlands.

Paul Rincon, writing for the BBC, says that harriers feed on grouse, which puts conservationists into conflict with managers of estates in grouse hunting.   The RSPB says  the killing of this bird of prey is a significant factor behind the diminishing numbers and a large barrier stopping their recovery.   Killing or injuring a wild bird in Britain could put a convicted person in jail.   Harriers were once widespread before driven to extinction in mainland Britain in the 1800s.  Despite a comeback, the breeding population today is under 1,000 pairs, a number that points once again to widespread extinction.

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BarrytheBirder