PRESS RELEASE 20 NOVEMBER 2025
Hen Harrier Action Appeals for Information as Another Rare Hen Harrier Suspected to have been Illegally Killed in Scotland
• A satellite tagged Hen Harrier, Circe, suddenly disappeared in the Moorfoot Hills, south of Edinburgh
• As numerous recent incidents have shown, satellite tagged Hen Harriers that disappear in suspicious circumstances are highly likely to have been illegally killed
• Hen Harrier Action are appealing for information which could help with the investigation
Thanks to donations from supporters in 2025, Hen Harrier Action funded the purchase of four satellite tags to monitor the movements of Hen Harriers in the UK.
One of the tags was fitted by RSPB staff to a juvenile female Hen Harrier named Circe before she fledged from her nest on Tarras Valley Nature Reserve – a community-led rewilding project in Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway.
In the days leading up to her disappearance Circe ranged across the Moorfoot Hills, south of Edinburgh. Her tag data shows that the tag was regularly transmitting but then sudden stopped with no sign of tag malfunction. The disappearance was reported to the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the area was searched but no body or tag has been found. Sudden stops without the tag being found are a huge concern, often indicating that the bird has been illegally killed.
Circe’s last transmission was on Tuesday 14th October at 2.07pm, not far from the well-known standing stones at Greenfieldknowe and the hiking trails around Whiteside Edge and Loncote Hill. She was less than four months old.
The location of Circe’s last transmission on Tuesday 14th October at 2.07pm
Though a legally protected species, Hen Harriers are one of the UK’s scarcest and most persecuted birds of prey in the UK. Dozens are satellite tagged each year to monitor their movements and wellbeing with the support of charities like the RSPB and local raptor groups. But despite being heavily protected in law for decades, many go missing each year due to suspected and confirmed illegal killing. In an effort to locate the body of Circe the charity has issued an appeal for information.
Hen Harrier Action trustee Adrian Rowe said “We are devastated by the loss. Circe was a healthy, thriving Hen Harrier and we had high hopes that she would go on to find a mate and raise a family. We know that the area is a popular walking route, and we are appealing for anyone who might have seen anything suspicious that Tuesday afternoon, or come across a dead bird of prey in the area, to get in touch.”
If you have information that could help, please call the RSPB’s Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101, or the Wildlife Crime team at Police Scotland on 101.
Editors Notes:
- Recent scientific studies show that illegal killing linked to land managed for grouse shooting remains the main barrier to Hen Harrier recovery in Scotland and England, suppressing populations to unnaturally low levels. The average lifespan of a Hen Harrier post fledging is just four months (Ewing et al. 2023). Research using satellite tagged Hen Harrier data has also revealed that Hen Harriers suffer elevated levels of mortality on grouse moors as a result of illegal killing (Murgatroyd et al. 2019)
- The RSPB’s Hen Harriers in the firing report details the issue of Hen Harrier persecution in the UK (2019-2024). To read the report visit www.rspb.org.uk/hen-harrier-report.
- The RSPB Hen Harrier Map Hub details the fates of RSPB satellite tagged Hen Harriers since 2014, providing information on individual birds and their cause of death. www.rspb.org.uk/hen-harrier-map-hub
- You can read more about Hen Harrier Action’s 2025 cohort of satellite tagged Hen Harriers by visiting www.henharrierday.uk/news/meet-our-2025-satellite-tagged-hen-harriers/ and www.henharrierday.uk/news/devastating-news-about-three-of-our-four-2025-hen-harriers/