An Inspiring Start to 2025 as the Christmas Satellite Tag Appeal Smashes Its Target for the Second Year Running
Following the success of the 2023 Appeal, we launched a new fundraising campaign in early December for satellite tags to monitor and protect young Hen Harriers in 2025.
Once again, our supporters and friends responded magnificently, donations flooded in throughout December and into the New Year, and we were able to report that by mid-January, the Appeal had surpassed its £10,000 target.
Together with additional funds from the previous appeal, we were able to contribute enough to fund four more satellite tags, to be ordered from US manufacturer MTI and fitted by our RSPB partners.
A Fascinating Interview with the National Wildlife Crime Unit's DI Mark Harrison Sparks an Idea
Also in January, we caught up with Detective Inspector Mark Harrison of the National Wildlife Crime Unit. Mark manages a team of five Investigation Support Officers and two Detective Constables, and leads the NWCU’s Hen Harrier Taskforce. The team collaborates closely with frontline officers across the whole of the UK in tackling wildlife crime.
We found out more about Mark’s role and his typical working day, and explored the launch of the new Hen Harrier Task Force targeting hotspots for wildlife crime.
The team are introducing a wide range of new techniques and tactics, quickly analysing data from suspected wildlife crime and launching investigations.
In particular, he and his colleagues have been trialling new detection techniques, including satellite tag detecting drones, metal detectors and detection dogs.
This sparked an idea for us, which we revisited later in the year.
Another Skydancer Day Success at Malham in the Heart of the Yorkshire Dales
This year Skydancer Day was broadcast live on YouTube from the Visitor Centre at Malham Cove, in glorious May sunshine amid the stunning scenery of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Hosted by Lauren Cook and George Hassall, the action-packed show included interviews with NWCU’s DI Mark Harrison, filmmaker Greta Santagata, and Yorkshire Dales National Park CEO David Butterworth.
Highlights included Greta’s exclusive new film about the ambitious rewilding initiative at Bridestones Moor, items on the famous Peregrine Falcons of Malham Cove, the Hazel Dormice reintroduction project at Aysgarth Falls, and the launch of the 2025 Young Wild Writer and Young Wild Photographer competitions.
Plus, we also announced the launch of a brand new campaign to raise funds to train and deploy wildlife detection dogs, and we met detection dog Gem live on the show.
Hen Harrier Sita Disappears in Suspicious Circumstances on a Grouse Moor
During May, we also received the sad news that Sita, one of the four young Hen Harriers satellite tagged in 2024, thanks to donations from the charity’s friends and supporters, had died in suspicious circumstances on an unnamed grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales.
Sita fledged from the Forest of Bowland in July 2024, and her tag unexpectedly stopped transmitting on 27 February 2025 from a roost site.
Despite an investigation, neither Sita nor her tag were ever located. An RSPB press release later in the year confirmed the proximity of her disappearance to two large grouse moor estates and described the Yorkshire Dales as ‘becoming a no-fly zone for birds of prey‘.
Our Wildlife Crime Detection Dogs Appeal Smashed its Target in Less Than Three Weeks
In June we were delighted to announce that our Wildlife Crime Detection Dogs Appeal, launched on Skydancer Day, had surpassed its £10k target in just 20 days, and finished at an astonishing £11,220, thanks to the generosity of supporters and friends of the charity.
More than 380 donations were received, and the appeal was amplified by our friends at campaigning organisation Protect the Wild, who published a guest post to promote the campaign to their huge supporter base.
The funds helped to deploy the remarkable dogs on searches during 2025, and to train the lively Cocker Spaniel Gem, who we met at Skydancer Day.
A Sad Farewell to Two Valued Trustees...
...and a Big Welcome to Five New Colleagues
Hen Harrier Action is run entirely by unpaid volunteers, and we are immensely grateful for their time and commitment. Mid-year saw some changes to the structure of the Board of Directors and Trustees.
Sadly, we said goodbye to Treasurer Jack Whitelegg, who works for RSPB International, often in remote international locations, and needed to concentrate on this. And long-standing Trustee Andrea Hudspeth stepped down to concentrate on growing her own company, Aquila Ecology.
But we also welcomed five new Trustees to the Board. Emma Butler, who works for Butterfly Conservation; Dr Helen Whitehead, a Lecturer in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Salford; Becky Downey, from Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust; Rob Knott, from The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales; and Claire Hopkinson-Brown, who succeeds Jack as Treasurer.
Young People's Creativity Astounds and Inspires Us Again in the Young Wild Writers and Young Wild Photographer Competitions
“This year’s Young Wild Writers competition has once again seen some astonishing and visionary pieces of writing” says best-selling children’s author Gill Lewis, who judged our annual Young Wild Writers competition. “This year’s competition has had great writing in bucket loads, and it’s heartening to know that our future writers will inspire and use words as their superpowers to change hearts and minds – to bring about positive change in the world.” The three category winners – five-year-old Freya Roy, twelve-year-old Summer Walker and thirteen-year-old Mikah Ubasa – were all delighted with their RSPB binoculars and £50 book vouchers.
Wildlife photography has so many benefits for children and young people, encouraging their curiosity and observational skills, cultivating a sense of wonder about the natural world, as judge Richard Birchett noted. This year’s winning entries to our Young Wild Photographer competition included brother and sister Jack and Emily Brackley, who won their respective Senior and Young categories, along with Arran Fulton, who won the Junior category.
Four Young Hen Harriers Fitted with Satellite Tags with Funds from Our Christmas Appeal in July...
...but Tragic News on the Fate of Three by October
In August, we were delighted to introduce four newly fledged Hen Harriers, satellite tagged with funds from our Christmas Appeal by RSPB field workers.
All were females. Frigg (Isle of Man), Circe and Henrietta (Tarras Valley Nature Reserve), and Clara (Hebrides), joined our four remaining birds from previous years (Macha, Adar, Binbeal, and Gilda).
Devastatingly, by October we had to report the loss of three of the four birds.
Frigg was lost to natural causes in the Lake District. Henrietta disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean when blown of course heading for France. And Circe disappeared in suspicious circumstances in the Moorfoot Hills, a well-known hotspot for raptor persecution, presumed illegally killed.
Only Clara, who remains close to her natal area in the Hebrides, has survived from the 2025 tagged cohort.
Wildlife Photographer Richard Birchett Becomes Hen Harrier Action Ambassador
In September, we were delighted to announce that award-winning wildlife photographer Richard Birchett, who has judged our Young Wild Photographer competition for the last two years, has agreed to take an Ambassador role for the charity.
Currently based in Ontario, Canada, but returning to his native Cornwall in 2026, he is a self-confessed lifelong fan of birds of prey, and the Hen Harrier is one of his all-time favourite birds. His short film of Hen Harriers on the Isle of Mull and in the Cairngorms National Park was one of the most viewed highlights of last year’s Skydancer Day event.
Wildlife Crime Detection Dog Henry Wins National Award
In October, we received the welcome news that detection dog Henry, one of the Conservation K9 Consultancy Dogs that our May Appeal helps to fund with training and deployment, had been recognised in a prestigious international award ceremony.
Henry, seen here with Michaela Strachan and proudly sporting his Hen Harrier Action patch, was awarded the title of International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Animal of the Year.
Strachan, who presented the awards on Thursday night, was quick to praise trainer Louise Wilson, Managing Director of Conservation K9 Consultancy, for her work in developing Henry’s skills as a wildlife crime detection dog, describing Henry as a ‘superdog’.
“To be able to train a dog like Henry to do the work that he does needs an enormous amount of time, patience, dedication and commitment,” she told the BBC.
“The two of them together are a formidable team for wildlife protection.“
The same month, we were delighted to report that Henry’s canine colleague Gem, the lively Cocker Spaniel we met at Skydancer Day, is now fully trained in Hen Harrier carcass and satellite tag detection.
December Sees the Charity Launch its Third Satellite Tag Christmas Appeal
Devastated by the loss of so many of our satellite tagged young Hen Harriers in 2025 (Sita, Frigg, Henrietta, Circe), including two (Sita and Circe) most likely illegally killed, we launched our third Christmas Appeal to fund more tags in 2026.
Sadly, sudden disappearances like these often point to illegal killing, the grim reality facing too many Hen Harriers across the UK — despite the species being fully protected by law.
The loss of Sita and Circe, whilst tragic, has motivated us even further as a charity. In 2026, we have vowed to increase the number of satellite tags fitted to young Hen Harriers in the wild.
Continuing our long-established partnership with the RSPB, this fundraiser will contribute funds to the deployment of 5 additional satellite tags fitted to young birds next year.
Every donation will go directly towards the purchase of the satellite tags (costing between £2500 – £3500 each), as they continue to be one of the best tools we have to tackle the persecution and killing of Hen Harriers.
We know from the infamous covert footage captured by the RSPB and broadcast on Channel 4 News that ‘boxed’ (gamekeeper-speak for tagged) birds are less likely to be targeted. And they help us to monitor their wellbeing on a daily basis, hoping to aid the fragile recovery of this rare species.
There’s still time to donate on GoFundMe if you haven’t had a chance yet.
Despite the challenges that Hen Harriers and all birds of prey face in the UK we remain optimistic that with your help we can continue to make a difference.
We welcome new volunteers, we’re here to help you organise your own Hen Harrier Days, we’re delighted to receive entries from young people to our Young Wild Writers and Young Wild Photographer competitions. And of course, your donations are truly appreciated.