Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565

Two Hen Harriers have vanished in suspicious circumstances in just two weeks within the Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and nearby North Yorkshire.

The birds were fitted with satellite tags, which are fitted to gather information about this rare and persecuted species.

Rush, an adult male bird, had been spending time in Mallowdale, in the Forest of Bowland, throughout the spring until his tag unexpectedly stopped transmitting on May 4.

The tag’s last fix put him over a grouse moor. Lancashire Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit carried out a search of the area but found no sign of the bird or its tag.

Apollo the hen harrier, who has flown from his nesting site in Bowland, Lancashire to his winter home in Extrremadura, Spain, twice in two years. His brother Dynamo, meanwhile, has ventured less than 50 miles in the same period.

On May 17, another tagged bird, Wayland, vanished in the Clapham area of North Yorkshire, just north of the Bowland AONB, where the land is a mix of farmland with gamebird shooting.

Its tag had also been functioning normally until that point.

These two birds are in addition to the 21 Hen Harriers that were reported as either killed or missing across Northern England in the last year, including one found dead in the Yorkshire Dales National Park with its head pulled off.

Howard Jones, RSPB Senior Investigations Officer, said: “To have two more Hen Harriers disappear this spring is a huge blow for a struggling species where every nest counts. These latest disappearances are being treated as suspicious by the police. From Wayland’s tag data, it appears that the tag stopped mid-transmission - cutting out abruptly as it was sending data through to us - which strongly suggests human interference.

“We hope the otherwise tragic news of these birds sends a clear message that licensing of driven grouse shooting estates must be implemented to ensure all are operating within the law, and to protect birds like Hen Harriers from persistent persecution. Clearly self-regulation has failed, as evidenced by this spate of disappearances. How many more birds must vanish from the breeding population before action is taken?”

Hen Harriers are rare breeding birds in the UK, known for their acrobatic ‘skydancing’ courtship display which they perform above upland moors in spring.

In England there were 34 successful nests in 2022, despite a previous independent government report finding that there is enough habitat and food to support over 300 pairs.

Rare hen harriers go missing from beauty spots near Lancaster