Hen Harriers

Length: 44-52cm
Wingspan: 100-120cm
Weight: 300-400g (male) 400-600g (female)

For me the female Hen Harrier is the most difficult bird to spot against the heather and I am often heard saying “I can’t see it, I can’t see it, where is it”. Whilst the male is the ghost of the moors, I find him just as difficult to spot.

My first sighting of Hen Harriers was several years ago at Broubster Leans whilst looking for Great Yellow Bumble Bees. We didn’t see the bees but instead were completely blown away by a family of Hen Harriers. A male, a female and a recently fledged chick.

We were taking a late afternoon/early evening stroll along the road beside the RSPB reserve when the female and the juvenile landed fairly close by. They both stayed in this area for a while even though we were in plain sight of them, the chick practicing take off and landing and the female just watching on, then after 20 minutes or so the male came and joined them. Then they were off, flying out toward and then alongside the woods. They looked like very proud parents to me.

Another memorable occasion was witnessing our first sighting of a food pass whilst on Orkney. The birds were a long way off and the weather was atrocious but that did not detract from this brilliant spectacle. Here are 4 of the many pictures I took on that day.