Q. Hen Harriers: Conservation

Hen Harriers: Conservation

(asked on 18th December 2018) - View Source

Questioner

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
(Conservative - Berwick-upon-Tweed)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many hen harrier nests there were on (a) RSPB and (b) non-RSPB reserves in each of the last six years; how many of those nests failed to have any chicks fledge; and what the causes of each of those nest failures were.

Answered by

Thérèse Coffey

This question was answered on 7th January 2019

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has primary control over access to two known hen harrier breeding sites: the RSPB reserve at Geltsdale and United Utilities landholding in the Bowland Fells, a special protection area.

Table 1. Breeding data from sites primarily controlled by RSPB

Year	Area	Outcome	Likely reason for failure
2014	Bowland	5 chicks fledged
2014	Bowland	4 chicks fledged
2015	Bowland	Nest failed	Unknown - chicks dead in nest
2015	Bowland	1 chick fledged
2015	Bowland	Nest failed	Male missing
2015	Bowland	Nest failed	Male missing
2015	Bowland	Nest failed	Male missing
2015	Bowland	Nest failed	Predation
2015	Geltsdale	Nest failed	Male missing
2016	Geltsdale	1 chick fledged
2018	Bowland	4 chicks fledged
2018	Bowland	4 chicks fledged
2018	Bowland	5 chicks fledged

Table 2. Breeding data from sites primarily controlled by other bodies

Year	Area	Outcome	Likely Reason for failure
2013	County Durham	Nest failed	Female disappeared/deserted
2013	Northumberland	Nest failed	Abnormal eggs
2014	Cumbria	2 chicks fledged
2014	Peak District	4 chicks fledged
2015	Cumbria	2 chicks fledged
2015	Cumbria	3 chicks fledged
2015	Cumbria	3 chicks fledged
2015	Northumberland	4 chicks fledged
2015	Northumberland	5 chicks fledged
2016	Northumberland	2 chicks fledged
2016	Northumberland	5 chicks fledged
2017	Northumberland	4 chicks fledged
2017	Northumberland	3 chicks fledged
2017	Northumberland	Nest failed	Suspected predation
2017	Northumberland	3 chicks fledged
2017	Northumberland	Nest failed	Likely bad weather - chicks dead in wet nest
2017	Yorkshire Dales	Nest failed	Suspected predation
2017	Yorkshire Dales	Nest failed	Suspected predation
2018	Yorkshire Dales	Nest failed	Desertion
2018	Yorkshire Dales	Nest failed	Desertion
2018	Northumberland	Nest failed	Predation
2018	Northumberland	Nest failed	Predation or deserted
2018	Northumberland	Nest failed	Predated
2018	Northumberland	4 chicks fledged
2018	Northumberland	5 chicks fledged
2018	Northumberland	2 chicks fledged
2018	Cumbria	2 chicks fledged
2018	Cumbria	4 chicks fledged
2018	Yorkshire	4 chicks fledged

Hen Harriers: Conservation

Questioner

Answered by

Reticulating Splines