Concern over hen harrier numbers

The RSPB revealed the worrying trend at what has been the threatened bird of prey's only stronghold in England in recent decades.

Only four nesting pairs raised chicks last year, all in Bowland, where landowner United Utilities has encouraged the management of its estate to support the birds, the wildlife charity said.

If only one pair nests in England this year, it will be the worst breeding season since they recolonised the country in the 1960s after being driven to extinction by persecution in the late 19th century.

The hen harrier has suffered from illegal persecution since its return to England, in particular in areas with grouse moors because it is a predator of the game bird, the RSPB said.

A Government-commissioned report found the English uplands could support more than 300 pairs of hen harriers, and that persecution was keeping numbers low.

Martin Harper, RSPB conservation director, said: "After recolonising England, the bird is now perilously close to being wiped out in England again as a result of decades of persecution."

The RSPB said Bowland was a safe place for hen harriers to nest, but it was difficult to protect the birds away from their breeding grounds there.

Without an emergency recovery programme and a rapid and sustained reduction in persecution, the hen harrier will disappear again from English skies, the wildlife charity warned.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "The low number of breeding hen harriers are of great concern and we are currently looking at how to improve their populations in England."