With Hen Harrier Day on August 7 fast approaching, Tim Birch, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Head of Advocacy and Conservation Strategy, talks hen harriers.
WHEN I JOINED Derbyshire Wildlife Trust over three years ago, I had just returned from working overseas on a variety of high-profile conservation issues around the world including destruction of the rain forests and whaling in the southern oceans. I was looking forward to revisiting the landscapes and wildlife of my childhood in north Derbyshire as this is where I spent many a weekend tramping the uplands and soaking up the stunning scenery. It never occurred to me then to question the lack of birds of prey in these stunning landscapes – I never saw a peregrine and it seemed hen harriers were a bird of my imagination…