So we’ve reached the beginning of April and what of the birds in Bowland I hear you all asking. Well, to be honest it’s pretty quiet on the harrier front. I reported the skydancing male back on the 19th March but alas, his efforts did not lead to him attracting a female and we have not seen a harrier in Bowland for over a week now. Our young female from last year, 74843, also made an appearance and stuck around for about 10 days in the middle of March but she has since returned to the moors of Yorkshire where she spent the winter. There have been reports of birds in the near vicinity so we are just keeping our fingers crossed that they will come back in over the next few weeks – it is still only early April.
On a more positive note, peregrine and merlin numbers are looking encouraging, as are ring ouzels which are being seen in good numbers around the estate.
Can I also just take this opportunity to remind you, if you are about in the fells over the coming weeks and months and see a harrier, don't forget to make a note of it and call it in to our Hen Harrier Hotline on 0845 4600121 (calls charged at local rate) or e-mail it to henharriers@rspb.org.uk Useful information to pass on to us would be the date and location of sighting, and a six-figure grid reference. If you need help identifying whether it was a harrier or not, check out the RSPB's hen harrier identification page where you can see pictures and videos of these magnificent raptors. Thank you for your help.