'Wanted: One female harrier with striking yellow eyes and brown hair, must be acrobatic and attracted to young male with grey hair and yellow eyes.
Please contact RSPB Geltsdale reserve if interested in friendship or more!'
This lonely-hearts ad has been put together by staff at the RSPB’s Geltsdale nature reserve in northern England following the arrival of a male hen harrier that is desperately trying to attract a mate to nest with him in the North Pennines.
The rare bird of prey arrived on the RSPB Geltsdale reserve last week and has been busy performing his incredible spring-time ‘skydancing’ display to try and lure a passing female to join him. Male hen harriers perform an amazing spring ‘sky dance’ aerobatic display to attract a passing female and provide food to females in gravity-defying aerial food passes.
Bachelor boy
The bird, which has been nicknamed ‘Harry the Harrier’ by RSPB wardens, has also been spotted building a nest. However, reserve wardens fear that Harry may be destined for a bachelor life this year. As a result of illegal killing, hen harriers are one of England’s rarest birds of prey and last year there were only 15 successful nests in the whole of England. With so few birds to go around, he may need to be lucky to attract a mate. If he does successfully pull a female, then the RSPB will launch a round-the-clock operation to protect the nesting birds because of the risk of illegal persecution.
RSPB Geltsdale warden, Dave O’Hara, says: 'We are keeping our fingers crossed that a female harrier comes looking for love in the North Pennines and is wowed by the way the male is tripping the flight fantastic. It would be brilliant if ‘Harry’ could meet up with a ‘Sally’!'
It is estimated that the heather moors of England should have around 200 pairs of nesting harriers. Illegal killing or deliberate disturbance is believed to be the main reason that hen harriers are absent from almost all areas of suitable moorland in northern England. The RSPB is issuing asking other moorland managers and owners to join with us to boost the numbers of the UK’s most persecuted bird.
Dr Peter Robertson, the RSPB’s Northern England conservation manager, added: 'We can only improve the fortunes of hen harriers and other birds of prey with the help and commitment of moorland owners and managers. For decades, we have worked to improve the situation but in large areas of upland Britain, progress has stalled and in some is worsening.'
For more on this story please visit http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-188782