One Male is 'Single-handedly' Keeping the Species Alive in Britain
A single male British-hatched Montagu’s Harrier – AU – ringed as a chick at a farm in Wiltshire in 2016, has returned to the UK and successfully raised six chicks with two females at a secret location, closely monitored by RSPB fieldworkers.
“When we ringed him as a chick in 2016 in a different part of the country we had no idea that ten years later he would single-handedly prop up the species in Britain,” explains Mark Thomas, Head of RSPB Investigations and species lead for this rare bird of prey.
Two Chicks Tagged to Monitor their Migration and Wellbeing
The remarkable story of AU and the two females that raised the chicks in two nests less than a kilometre apart – in a patch of barley crop generously left untouched by the farmer during breeding – is told by writer and RSPB volunteer Kayla Cohen.
And in a first for ‘Monties’ in the UK, two of the chicks, one from each nest, have been fitted with satellite tags, so that RSPB Investigations analysts can track their movements on migration to Africa, with the hope that they return to the UK in future years. As of the 24th August, when the RSPB article was first published, all six chicks were still on their natal fields of barley and still receiving food from the females, but they will soon begin the long migration to sub-Saharan Africa.
“The biggest mystery is their childhood,” explains RSPB tagging expert and conservationist Jack Ashton-Booth. “Only now that the tags are light enough can we fit them to juveniles.” It’s a 3,500-mile journey to their wintering grounds, and the RSPB hope that the two tagged chicks will help unlock some of the mysteries of their route.
“The tags give us a direct insight into these birds’ migration and survival,” adds Mark Thomas. “The chicks we’ve tagged may not be representative of all juveniles, but they can still offer answers, particularly as to when and where they return to Britain.”
One of the two tagged birds has already left the UK
Now that the chicks have safely fledged, the RSPB has shared images of the three adults and six chicks in a new blog article where you can meet all the birds.
One nest, with adult female CV, raised three female juveniles, FH (tagged), FZ and FU (the smallest of the brood). The second nest, with an adult female nicknamed Bronze by the fieldworkers, raised two males, HH and HK, and a single female, HV (tagged).
In the latest update on the 1st September, HV has left the UK, unexpectedly crossing the North Sea to the Netherlands and roosting near Eindhoven.
The RSPB intend to update the satellite tracking maps regularly, and you can keep track of the two tagged birds here, on the RSPB website.
Sad News About FH Just Announced (4th September) by Mark Thomas
A Message from Mark Thomas on LinkedIn:
“Terrible news from FH, her data had been worrying with the tag temperature indicated she was probably dead. However, the data suggested that she was rapidly moving between two locations around 30 miles apart. These locations fitted perfectly with a west to east railway line and with the help of the staff we have located her body.
She has been struck by a train and carried along the route. The tag was still in perfect working order enabling us to locate and recover her body. This is a terrible shock for the team and just highlights the unpredictability of working with this species.”
11 September Update: HV Makes Landfall in North Africa
In the latest update from the RSPB, the news is that the one remaining satellite tagged Montagu’s Harrier, HV, has crossed the Mediterranean Sea and made landfall in Northern Morocco.
Having crossed the North Sea from the UK to Eindhoven in the Netherlands on the 1st September, in the following days she passed through Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and France, crossing the Pyrenees into Spain.
Having flown strongly south through Spain, she left the Spanish coast on the 10th September around 40 miles east of Malaga, and flew across the Mediterranean in 4.5 hours, arriving in Morocco just before nightfall and roosted in the hills near Tagha.
You can keep an eye on the progress of this remarkable young bird with the regular updates on the RSPB’s website here.
