Thor is no more: First hatched hen harrier in Bowland for three years disappears in suspicious circumstances
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https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/communityserver-components-imagefileviewer/communityserver-components-avatars_2E00_/default.png_2D00_32x32.png
Chris Collett
Chris Collett
18 Oct 2018 9:28 AM
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This summer we were
overjoyed to have hen harriers nesting in Bowland for the first time
since 2015. Our project team worked round the clock to monitor the three
nests there, and the parent birds fledged an amazing 13 chicks between
them.
Young hen harriers were fitted with tags as part of the RSPB’s EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE project and we watched with anticipation as the chicks grew and started to fly away from their nests and make their way into the world. Unfortunately, it was unlucky 13 for one of our brood.
Young male hen harrier Thor fledged from a nest of four chicks in the Forest of Bowland and his satellite tag was fitted in mid-June. After leaving the nest he remained in the vicinity for several months.
His tag was transmitting regularly when it suddenly and inexplicably stopped. His last known fix on 3 October 2018 showed he was over Goodber Common near Salter in Lancashire, adjacent to a managed driven grouse moor. This disappearance was reported to the police, and a search revealed no sign of the bird or his tag.
Thor is the fourth bird to disappear in the past two months, following the disappearances of Hilma, Octavia and Heulwen in August this year. Alarmingly, the last known fix for Thor is directly between the sites where tagged hen harriers Hope and Sky were last heard from before they disappeared back in 2014.
image: https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x0/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-08-90/Thir-crop.jpg
Thor as a youngster (photo: Steve Downing)
James Bray, RSPB’s Bowland Project Officer, was involved in monitoring the nests in Bowland over the summer, and watched as Thor hatched, grew and fledged from his nest. He says: “Whilst we know that hen harrier mortality rates are high for young birds - with a survival rate of around 22% within the first two years - if Thor had died naturally we would have expected to find some sign of him or his tag. His tag was functioning well before he disappeared, which sadly suggests there has been some kind of interference with it.”
If anyone has any information as to what may have become of Thor, you can contact Lancashire Police on 101.
Young hen harriers were fitted with tags as part of the RSPB’s EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE project and we watched with anticipation as the chicks grew and started to fly away from their nests and make their way into the world. Unfortunately, it was unlucky 13 for one of our brood.
Young male hen harrier Thor fledged from a nest of four chicks in the Forest of Bowland and his satellite tag was fitted in mid-June. After leaving the nest he remained in the vicinity for several months.
His tag was transmitting regularly when it suddenly and inexplicably stopped. His last known fix on 3 October 2018 showed he was over Goodber Common near Salter in Lancashire, adjacent to a managed driven grouse moor. This disappearance was reported to the police, and a search revealed no sign of the bird or his tag.
Thor is the fourth bird to disappear in the past two months, following the disappearances of Hilma, Octavia and Heulwen in August this year. Alarmingly, the last known fix for Thor is directly between the sites where tagged hen harriers Hope and Sky were last heard from before they disappeared back in 2014.
image: https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x0/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-00-08-90/Thir-crop.jpg
Thor as a youngster (photo: Steve Downing)
James Bray, RSPB’s Bowland Project Officer, was involved in monitoring the nests in Bowland over the summer, and watched as Thor hatched, grew and fledged from his nest. He says: “Whilst we know that hen harrier mortality rates are high for young birds - with a survival rate of around 22% within the first two years - if Thor had died naturally we would have expected to find some sign of him or his tag. His tag was functioning well before he disappeared, which sadly suggests there has been some kind of interference with it.”
If anyone has any information as to what may have become of Thor, you can contact Lancashire Police on 101.
Read more at https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/skydancer/b/skydancer/archive/2018/10/18/thor-is-no-more-first-hatched-hen-harrier-in-bowland-for-three-years-disappears-in-suspicious-circumstances.aspx#wTDMSVrcrfpPRpkd.99
