Decline of hen harrier numbers in Northern Ireland by 26% prompts concern – The Irish Times

Issues have been raised after the hen harrier inhabitants in Northern Eire was discovered to have dropped by greater than 1 / 4.

Final 12 months’s hen harrier survey recorded solely 34 territorial pairs within the area, down greater than 26 per cent since 2016′s survey.

The research was carried out in partnership with the Royal Society for the Safety of Birds Northern Eire (RSPBNI), Northern Eire Raptor Examine Group (NIRSG) and the division of agriculture, atmosphere and rural affairs, in addition to a group of volunteers, in an try to know extra concerning the numbers and distribution of the uncommon species.

A 2011 impartial authorities report had beforehand estimated that there needs to be round 150 pairs of hen harriers breeding in Northern Eire.

The NIRSG has described the North’s hen harrier inhabitants as being underneath immense stress from a variety of land administration actions and human-mediated threats. The group stated this has led to in depth and ongoing losses of appropriate habitats and widespread disturbances at nesting and foraging habitats.

Gregory Woulahan, operations director at RSPBNI, stated the drop represented a “drastic decline”.

“Sadly, this latest decline mirrors an identical inhabitants lower inside the Republic of Eire in 2022,” he stated, including that hen harriers and their habitats want higher protections.

Mr Woulahan stated assist needs to be provided with a view to retaining invaluable and biodiverse scrub and heather habitats throughout upland areas.

“There must be landscape-scale restoration of peatlands and habitats for this species and its prey,” he stated. “The devastating results of wildfire and inappropriate land administration wants reversed by means of strong coverage and assist for landowners, and wider consciousness amongst the general public to minimise disturbing actions.

“While some inhabitants will increase had been recorded by the survey ends in different components of the UK, Northern Eire and the Republic of Eire have each exhibited substantial declines for the reason that final surveys.”

Stormont’s minister for rural affairs Andrew Muir stated landowners, farmers and different stakeholders should work in partnership to handle the regarding state of affairs.

“Motion must be taken to cease the decline of this iconic chicken, however it may possibly solely be achieved by means of working in partnership with landowners, farmers, non-governmental organisations and all different stakeholders, to revive and improve breeding habitats and appropriately handle actions which have the potential to trigger disturbance and displacement,” he stated.

“Whereas the general image will not be encouraging, I’m happy the survey confirmed that the variety of hen harriers inside the two designated particular safety areas, roughly half of the inhabitants, remained comparatively steady for the reason that 2016 census.”

The general public have been requested to report any useless or injured birds of prey in suspicious circumstances that they see to police. Anybody with details about folks killing birds of prey will be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers. – PA