Hen harriers incubating 6 eggs on Northumberland nest

May 2008. A pair of rare hen harriers is incubating six eggs at a nest site in Northumberland's North Tynedale, according to the RSPB and Forestry Commission.

30 volunteers watching the nest

The pair is one of only a handful known to be nesting in England this year, and more than 30 enthusiastic volunteers are helping to watch over the precious eggs.  Members of the nest watch team are on standby day and night alongside RSPB officers and Forestry Commission rangers to safeguard the nest.

Atrocious weather

Recent atrocious weather in Northumberland has been a cause of concern for the nestwatch team, but the female harrier has continued to sit tight on the nest despite thunderstorms and torrential rain.  The male harrier takes no role the incubation, but provides food to the female either by dropping into the nest or passing it to her in a spectacular mid-air handover.

2007 - 5 chicks fledged

Last year a pair of hen harriers successfully raised five chicks at a nest in Tynedale, thanks to a 24-hr guard that safeguarded the birds from disturbance.  The RSPB and Forestry Commission believe the same birds have returned to the area this spring.

Persecution

The RSPB and Forestry Commission fear that without intensive protection the harriers would be at risk of being shot or their nest and eggs destroyed.  Research has shown that the uplands of England could support up to 200 pairs of nesting harriers, but last year there were only 15 successful nests in England - with the majority in one area of Lancashire.  Illegal killing or deliberate disturbance is the main reason that hen harriers are absent from almost all areas of suitable moorland in northern England.

The Northumberland Harrier Nest Watch is a partnership between the RSPB, and Forestry Commission with support from the Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club, BBC Wildlife Fund, SITA Trust, Egger UK and Tynedale Council.