Good winter for Hen Harriers!

[music_man800]

Well, at least at my local patch anyway. Towards dusk, often have 7 or 8 single birds in one place, often coming close enough to record in great detail on a handheld video camera! Same goes for Short-eared Owls too...most I've managed is 5 in sight at once. One-word: amazing.

One thing has struck me however. There may be a blatantly obvious answer to this, but all the Hen Harriers without exception are ringtails, do the males not migrate for the winter, is it a persecution issue, or do they 'moult'? etc etc
Just a teething thought I've been having
Cheers
Tom

[Acipiter]

Hi there Tom, its been the same here, I saw three ringtails the other day hunting in the middle of the day, over farmland. Its funny about the males, but If I want to see them I normally have to go to Wicken fen, where they come in to roost at dusk. Its been good here for s/e/owls as well. We also have a G/Grey shrike. I hope it doesn't mean the weather is going to turn "really bad".

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by music_man800

Well, at least at my local patch anyway. Towards dusk, often have 7 or 8 single birds in one place, often coming close enough to record in great detail on a handheld video camera! Same goes for Short-eared Owls too...most I've managed is 5 in sight at once. One-word: amazing.

One thing has struck me however. There may be a blatantly obvious answer to this, but all the Hen Harriers without exception are ringtails, do the males not migrate for the winter, is it a persecution issue, or do they 'moult'? etc etc
Just a teething thought I've been having
Cheers
Tom

Hen Harriers regularly gather in communal roosts during the winter (as do Marsh Harriers), often with other raptor species such as Merlins joining them as well.
Most of the Hen Harriers that you see will be ring-tails because the immature birds (even the males) have very similar plumage to females - and the number of immatures + females can always be expected to outnumber the mature males in any population. In some species adult males do have a tendency to spend the winter closer to their breeding areas than females and immatures (so they can get the best territories in the spring before the are occupied by others) but I have no idea whether this is generally the case for Hen Harriers.

[music_man800]

Ah yes that does make perfect sense with the males staying close to the nest area and with young males being ringtails. Also while this communal roost does seem evident elsewhere, I can't recall having ever seen so many at once, hopefully this is a sign that Hen Harriers are on the up!

And Wicken Fen is a place I keep meaning to go, I will get there one day!

Tom

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by music_man800

I can't recall having ever seen so many at once, hopefully this is a sign that Hen Harriers are on the up!

Numbers of Hen Harriers in the UK this winter are quite likely to be up because of the same vole numbers that allowed Short-eared Owls to have a good breeding season in Scandinavia.

[Deer Stalker]

I watch one of the New Forest roosts & half that come in are adult males.