Home / Bird of Prey Crime media / Two more hen harriers disappear in Scotland under ‘suspicious’ circumstances

Two more hen harriers disappear in Scotland under ‘suspicious’ circumstances


© RSPB Scotland Hoolie the hen harrier went missing on April 5.

RSPB Scotland found satellite tracking devices attached to a pair of hen harriers both stopped transmitting in April 2020. The organisation had been following two males fledged in 2018 – Marlin, from Mar Lodge Estate in Aberdeenshire, and Hoolie from Easter Ross. Marlin flew south and spent the last two winters in North Yorkshire, while Hoolie had crossed the sea to Ireland and was also being monitored by ornithologists there. In March Hoolie returned to Scotland, which RSPB Scotland said was likely so he could find a mate and raise chicks. But one month later his tag suddenly stopped transmitting. His last known location, on April 5, was an area of moorland managed for grouse shooting near Newtonmore in the Cairngorms.

Then three days later, the charity saw Marlin’s tag had “suddenly” lost signal after he too returned to Scotland. The bird had been travelling over land near Newtonmore which is “intensively managed” for grouse shooting.

Source: Press and Journal

To read the full article, click here.