The hen harrier is a large bird of prey that breeds on heather moorland in upland areas of Britain. The small English population has been in serious decline during the last few years largely as a result of illegal persecution, and now only a handful of pairs remain.
This leaflet outlines the basic biology of the hen harrier, and describes its past and current status in England. It introduces English Nature’s Hen Harrier Recovery Project, which was launched in spring 2002 in order to monitor the remaining birds and help begin the process of restoring its fortunes. It is aimed at anyone with a general interest in harriers in order to spread the word about the decline and our new project to try and rectify it.
Please note that this document is published for historic and research purposes.