[socksitis]

Please can someone tell me about the hen harriers that winter here in the UK? There are obviously birds that are resident in the UK all year and those would be the breeding pairs? 15 or so in England? But are there single birds resident in the UK if so what sort of numbers are we looking at and do the numbers rise with migrants in the winter, very interested to hear please if any one has any knowledge or thoughts?

[A Dobson]

Originally Posted by socksitis

Please can someone tell me about the hen harriers that winter here in the UK? There are obviously birds that are resident in the UK all year and those would be the breeding pairs? 15 or so in England? But are there single birds resident in the UK if so what sort of numbers are we looking at and do the numbers rise with migrants in the winter, very interested to hear please if any one has any knowledge or thoughts?

The winter population is hard to quantify exactly, though recent estimates put the English population at about 300-400 individuals. There are probably about another 500 in other parts of the UK. Most are probably from the British breeding stock (mostly concentrated in Scotland), though not from Ireland, it seems. There is good evidence for some immigration from Europe for the winter, especially from Sweden/Finland - perhaps in the region of 10-30% of the English wintering birds.
So, to answer your question, there are probably 10 times as many hen harriers in England in winter than in summer.

Hope that helps,

Andy