North Yorkshire hen harrier chicks found dead with broken bones after 'deliberate' attack

A nest of hen harrier chicks is suspected to have been deliberately destroyed by humans, according to police.

Four chicks in the nest in the North Yorkshire Dales National Park were found dead with fractured bones and one with a crushed skull on 21 June 2022.

Natural England fieldworkers checked up on the nest after the hens' mother Susie was suddenly tracked 35km away - unusual for this species as they stay close to their offspring during this period.

North Yorkshire Police are now investigating the deaths of the chicks after Natural England said there were no clear signs that they had been killed by a predator.

The nest, which was near Whernside, had been progressing well until the discovery, and footage from a monitoring confirmed there were four chicks in the nest before the incident.

They were all confirmed to look fit and well, and fed by their parents.

After dark on 15 June 2022, the camera showed the nest appeared normal, with Susie settled in with her chicks.

But at 9:59pm, a sudden irregular "whiteout" of the camera occurred and nothing could be seen on the video footage.

The camera used is movement-activated, and it was not triggered again until the following morning when footage captured the dead chicks in the nest with Susie attempting to feed them.

She can then be seen removing her dead chicks from the nest.

Three of them were found just outside the nest, and it is not known where Susie deposited the fourth.

A "whiteout" has not occurred with a Natural England nest camera before, and the camera itself has continued to operate normally since then.

There was no evidence of a vehicle on the ground running over the nest and no camera footage to indicate that this had happened.

There was, however, a footmark impression in the grass at the nest site, strongly indicating a person had approached the nest, according to police.

The footprint was believed to be recent, and not made by Natural England staff.

Post-mortem examinations of the three chicks were conducted and showed each suffered with multiple fractured bones, including the humerus in one chick, both femurs in the second chick, and the humerus and a crushed skull in the third chick.

The fractures were complete and showed a considerable trauma had taken place for each chick.

Although avian flu H5N1 virus was detected in one of the chicks, the post-mortem examinations also showed that the birds had been eating up until their deaths.

It is likely their deaths were sudden, rather than a result of a chronic disease process.

North Yorkshire Police have considered all the evidence, and strongly suspect that someone approached the nest after dark and deliberately killed the chicks.

Paul Cantwell, investigative support officer with Police UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, said: "This incident unfortunately shows that despite more recent breeding success in hen harriers, people still appear to be determined to cause harm to this vulnerable species through cruel criminal acts.

"We urge anyone with information about this matter to report it to the police or Crimestoppers."

John Holmes, Natural England strategy director, said: "The evidence points to this being one of the most clear-cut and brutal cases of hen harrier persecution we've ever found, and we would urge anyone with information to come forward.

"We were diligently monitoring this nest and moved quickly to ensure collection of forensic and other evidence to support a police investigation as soon as persecution was suspected.

"We call for all landowners and managers to help police identify and prosecute anyone who commits these horrific crimes against birds of prey."

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