This winter visitor to the Essex coast is a regular bird of prey on such sites such as Tollesbury Wick. It is a medium-sized, slenderly built raptor, with long wings and tail. A mature male is all pale grey with black wing tips and an indistinct white rump which is far more obvious in the dark brown female with her barred tail and buffy, streaked under-parts. They have a distinctive hunting technique characterised by gliding low over the ground with their wings held in a shallow V, using their long tails to make sudden sharp turns as they surprise unsuspecting prey, snatching up birds such as Moorhens, with their long flexible legs.

Drawing by Jonathan Swift

The Hen Harrier seen with the pink  tags was seen hunting as normal but displayed these colourful plastic-coated canvas-type tags fixed to the leading edge of each wing. Each tag would have had a white number or letter that enables the individual bird to be identified, but this normally would only be seen if the bird is perched. 

Sightings of Bowland Hen Harriers ringed in 1998 - 1999

It had been another good year for Hen Harriers in Bowland, and was the result of the close co-operation of the landowners, NW Water Ltd., and their gamekeepers and countryside wardens. The map shows the sightings and recoveries for 1998 and 1999 Hen Harriers and indicates a significant south- easterly movement from their breeding area.