Annie didn't stay long

There is a definite Autumnal feel to the air and we weren't far from a frost at the weekend, which was a bit of a shock for August. I had a fantastic day on the moor on Friday with students from Langholm Academy - learning about the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project as part of their Environmental Science module. It is so refreshing to work with young people of this age group as they question every aspect of the management, and rightly so. From young people with countryside / farming / shooting background to those who have had little engagement with the moor before.. I always ask them what they want from their surrounding landscape?  and how do they see the moor in 20 or 50 years time?. a very engaging and thoughtful group. Weather permitting we'll be out this week getting our hands dirty taking a closer look at the vegetation on the moor and the techniques used to manage it.

 

Langholm Harriers

 

 Annie's return to Langholm moor last week was brief, she stayed just a day or so and made a loop back east to Catcleugh Reservoir in Northumberland before headed west again to ground near Tweedsmuir in the Scottish Borders.

Hattie and Grainne (2013 tagged females) are running true to form and sticking within the boundaries of the moor, hunting mostly on the rough grassland. As far as we know Miranda is doing ok in Northern Ireland but data from her tag has been irregular. We are still waiting for information on Sid (the male 2014 tagged chick's) progress but will post here when it arrives.

Annie comes home

Annie 18th August

We've just been notified that Annie (2014 tagged female harrier) has returned home to Langholm.  Her signal shows she has arrived back on the northern edge of the moor  and not yet visited her old nest site.. but we'll be keeping an eye out for her. Maybe she has come back home to feed up on voles or just to check the moor is still there.. who knows. I can't imagine she'll hang around long, it will be interesting to see where she explores next. (click on the image to see it enlarged).

 

 August

 After the incredible weather we have enjoyed over the last couple of months, the rain has returned to remind us here at Langholm not to get too comfortable! In between the heavy rain showers, it is the perfect time to get out and enjoy the moor. It is at this time of year that heather moorland comes into it own and wows us with stunning displays of violet..  Sadly the rusty brown colouration of heather affected by the heather beetle grub has made an appearance at Langholm again this year; not as extensively as in previous years but it always seems to be by the roadside so is often the first view you get crossing the moor. If you look a little further afield and there are some wonderful views to be enjoyed.

August on Langholm moor



Healthy Heather in full flower (Tom Hutton)

Heather affected by Heather Beetle (Tom Hutton)

Heather Beetle grubs (Laurie Campbell)



Young Harriers hunting on the moor (Tom Hutton)

As we've mentioned in previous posts Hen harriers have had an incredible breeding season at Langholm with a total number of 12 nests. We can confirm (thanks to www.langholmproject.com)    that there were 12 females, and 9 males (6 monogamous and 3 bigamous). Ten of these nesting attempts were successful and fledged 47 young (brood sizes between three and six), which is more than in all previous breeding seasons since the start of the project combined. The two failed nesting attempts were deserted during incubation (one secondary female and a very late nesting attempt). 

 

Hattie and Grainne (both female birds fledged from Langholm in 2013 and both bred this year) are still exhibiting their strong bond to Langholm moor and are showing no signs of varying from that pattern. Annie (Grainne's daughter), however,  has exhibited the opposite pattern of behaviour from her mother, leaving the natal area around a month after leaving the nest. This opportunity to follow a mother and daughter is throwing up some really interesting questions -  such as what drives one harrier to leave the moor after a month and another to stay for a year? We have not  yet received data about Sid (male chick fledged from Langholm this year) but look forward to seeing what he is up to and will share this data, here, as soon as we can.

 

 Annie has flown 85km East and is currently in Northumberland, south west of Wooler.

 

Hattie, Grainne and Annie 10th - 15th August

 

Miranda did not breed this year but is doing is ok in Northern Ireland.. her tag is not behaving quite as expected (so we can't bring you a map at this time) but visual sightings confirm she is safe.

 

 

 

 



An incredible season at Langholm

Well the breeding season is drawing to a close.. although no one has told the barn owls (two pairs have begun on second broods already). The great weather and high vole numbers have made for an incredible season at Langholm moor this year but birds are now beginning to move away. The diversionary feeding of the Hen Harriers is coming to an end and young harriers are beginning to disperse across the moor. Grouse counts are under way and the decision whether or not to shoot grouse this year is not far off.

 

A total of 47 young hen harriers have fledged Langholm Moor this year.. which is phenomenal ..  now comes the time when they leave the safety of Langholm and venture off on their own.  We can only watch and hope as many as possible can survive their first winter and breed next year.

 

It is also time to say goodbye to the wonderful RSPB seasonal staff, Anna McWilliams and Kirstie Hazelwood, it has been a real pleasure working with you and to the hard working MSc students Kat Fingland and Sarah Emerson  .. good luck with your write up and all the best for the future..

 

Name a Hen Harrier

Thank you to everyone  who entered our 'Name a Hen Harrier' competition, we received some wonderful suggestions. I was glad to pass on the decision to the wonderful team at the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project, as there were so many great name suggestions.  

 

The chosen names are:

Female      Annie (made up of letters from her mother Grainne's name)..

Annie (Grainne's daughter)

 Male          Sid - (named after a character from the animated film Ice Age.. apparently Hen Harrier chicks up until about a week or so old look like this Sloth character called Sid), below is a short video clip.. you decide!

'Sid' male chick having his harness checked for a good, comfortable fit

 

 

 



Follow the Langholm Harriers

So this year we'll be following 5 satellite tagged Harriers from Langholm moor: Grainne, Hattie and Miranda (females all tagged in 2013) and Annie (female) and Sid (male) 2014.

 

Hattie and Grainne have made no major movements away from the moor, Miranda is still safe in Northern Ireland.  We'll be working with some fab folks in Ireland and Northern Ireland to bring you more detailed info on Miranda's movements http://henharrierireland.blogspot.co.uk/.

 

Annie is the offspring of Grainne; this is only the second time the satellite tagging of Hen Harriers harriers from successive generations has been done and we've been wondering whether the movements of mother and daughter would show any similarities.. One of the things I love about harriers is that they remind us again and again how unpredictable they are.  Annie has caught us on the hop and left the moor already, having flown north west just a few days ago.. 

 

24th -30th July Langholm Harrier movements

Many thanks to Stephen Murphy (Natural England) for this info.

Sid is wearing an RSPB tag and we looking forward to receiving an update on his movements soon.

The decision was taken this year to colour ring the other young harriers, so watch out for black rings with yellow text..

Harrier chicks wearing colour rings

We've enjoyed some great 'Wildlife Detective' activities this summer; including one cloudy morning  - which meant perfect conditions for the reptile refuges .. Common Toads, Common Lizards, Slow Worms, Voles, Common Shrews, Ant nests made for a very exciting morning.

Olivia investigating a Slowworm and Callum discovering a predated pheasant egg

Callum getting up close and personal with a Common Toad

We've had a month of fantastic 'Watching the moorland skies' events - great to meet lots of new folk and fantastic views of the birds:  Hen Harriers, Short Eared Owls, Merlin, Kestrel, Grouse, Curlew, Stonechat, Whinchat and Hobby to name but a few.  Yesterday evening (July 30th) was our last guided watch event this summer; Short Eared Owls, Buzzards, and Kestrels all put in an appearance but it was the first time in months I've spent time on the moor and not seen a harrier..

As we near the 'Glorious 12th' - the beginning of the Grouse shooting season in August, the press and publicity surrounding the Hen Harrier and Red Grouse moor conflict increases..
So are 'we' any closer to resolving it? I think if there was an easy solution then we wouldn't still have a problem..  Check out some of these links and decide for yourself..

 What is Hen Harrier day 2014?  http://birdersagainst.org/projects/hen-harrier-day/

RSPB are calling for Licencing of Grouse moors,  see what Martin Harper has to say -  http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/martinharper/archive/2014/06/26/our-uplands.aspx   

Download your free Grouse Shooting and Hen Harrier guide from GWCT here:  https://www.gwct.org.uk/news/news/2014/june/a-licensing-premise/

If you would like to sign the e-petition asking for the Defra Hen Harrier Joint Recovery Plan to be published follow this link:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/67527




Why did the furniture maker name his creations after a skylark?

no this isn't the beginning to a bad joke.. but an excuse to champion one of the project's most dedicated volunteers -   Daniel Lacey a local furniture maker and big supporter of he Making the Most of Moorlands Project has been inspired by moorland wildlife in naming his latest pieces..
Daniel is a regular volunteer for the Making the Most of Moorlands project, giving hours of his time to maintain the bird feeding station, designing and building new pheasant proof feeders, designing a bird hide, building and erecting barn owl boxes, offering up his workshop for Langholm Scouts nest box workshop and generally being a very helpful person!

Daniel designed and built this easy to clean ground feeder at our Moorland Bird feeding station - which has helped attract wonderful species like Brambling

Langholm Scout group hard at work building nest boxes for Pied flycatcher and Redstarts 

Daniel sharing his woodworking skills with the next generation

Daniel asked for some help naming his new creations;  as I know Daniel has a deep love for wildlife and the natural environment I suggested using the BTO species codes used for bird ringing..  who wouldn't love a SPOFL.. (Spotted Flycatcher), or a MEAPI (Meadow Pipit).. ? Check out some of Daniel's wonderful work below.

Daniel has offered to make a donation to the Making the Most of Moorlands project for every sale he makes.. so the education and community work we do here, will benefit from his work.. how generous!

This piece is called SKYLA - after the Skylark

BAROW - named after a barn owl

BLAGR - Black Grouse

PIEFL  - Pied Flycatcher

If you are interested in learning more about Daniel's work visit his website http://www.daniellacey.com/ or visit the CLA gamefair this weekend at Blenheim Palace.. where Daniel is exhibiting.. 18th - 20th July

We are currently working with a local jeweller and chocolatier to inspire some more moorland creations so ... watch this space.

 It is a wonderful time to visit the moor and watch the harriers and the other wonderful birds on the moor. You can safely watch and photograph the birds from the road but please remember a licence is required to approach the birds or photograph them off the road. These are very rare birds and this is an excellent opportunity to watch them at close quarters safely.

Why not drop into the Eskdale Hotel on Langholm high Street to see nest footage from one of the Harrier nests at Langholm.

 The Hen Harrier nest camera stars of 2014 have now fledged and are spending very little time in the nest.. so the Display in the Eskdale will be showing highlights from this season from incubation, hatching and growing chicks, so if you missed anything drop in and  watch the Langholm Hen Harrier story. 

 We will shortly begin sharing the movements of our satellite tagged birds here too.

  .......or join us for a Guided watch - 'Watching the Moorland Skies' -  every Wednesday evening 6pm - 8pm  in July. NY3986 , look for the Making the Most of Moorlands Banner or contact cat@langholminitiative.co.uk for more details

Watching the Moorland Skies

An excellent evening was had by all on Langholm Moor yesterday at our 'Watching the Moorland skies' event. Beautiful sunshine and light winds made for perfect viewing conditions of a variety moorland species including a family of  Merlin; the young birds gaining confidence on the wing but still filing the air with their food begging calls.

 

We were surrounded by Short Eared Owls - with both adults and young birds active it was difficult to know which direction to look in. The harriers didn't fail us and we enjoyed wonderful views of young birds exercising their wings and pestering their parents for food.  Kestrel, Raven and an appearance by a Hobby made a lovely addition to the evening. Red Grouse broods with good sized young could be seen grazing on blueberries as they kept a wary eye out for anything that might like to make them lunch.



A young Short Eared Owl (Bob Little)

The activity in the skies was very engaging, but the invertebrate life on the ground was also drawing our attention.



Emperor Caterpillar
 



Northern Eggar Moth

 

 Two young Hen Harriers (one female and one male) have now been fitted with Satellite tags and we will follow their progress on this blog. Our competition to name a hen harrier closes tomorrow Friday 11th July.. send your name suggestions to cat@langholminitiative.co.uk or drop into the Eskdale Hotel on Langholm High Street and post your entry into the nest box.

 

 

 

  It is a wonderful time to visit the moor and watch the harriers and the other wonderful birds on the moor. You can safely watch and photograph the birds from the road but please remember a licence is required to approach the birds or photograph them off the road. These are very rare birds and this is an excellent opportunity to watch them at close quarters safely.

 

Why not drop into the Eskdale Hotel on Langholm high Street to see nest footage from one of the Harrier nests at Langholm and enter our 'Name a Hen Harrier 'competition.

 

  .......or join us for a Guided watch - 'Watching the Moorland Skies' -  every Wednesday evening 6pm - 8pm  in July. NY3986 , look for the Making the Most of Moorlands Banner or contact cat@langholminitiative.co.uk for more details

We are just a small charity and rely on donated photographs.. many thanks to Chas Moonie for these beautiful photos of Hen Harrier.

  

First young Harriers seen on the wing

This season is flying by.. is seems only days ago that the harriers were skydancing overhead signalling the beginning of an incredible season ; this weekend the first 2014 harrier chicks at Langholm have been seen taking their first tentative flights. 

 

  It is a wonderful time to visit the moor and watch the harriers and the other wonderful birds on the moor. You can safely watch and photograph the birds from the road but please remember a licence is required to approach the birds or photograph them off the road. These are very rare birds and this is an excellent opportunity to watch them at close quarters safely.

 

Why not drop into the Eskdale Hotel on Langholm high Street to see nest footage from one of the Harrier nests at Langholm and enter our 'Name a Hen Harrier 'competition.

 

  .......or join us for a Guided watch - 'Watching the Moorland Skies' -  every Wednesday evening 6pm - 8pm  in July. NY3986 , look for the Making the Most of Moorlands Banner or contact cat@langholminitiative.co.uk for more details

 check out these wonderful images of Hattie and her male taking diversionary food from the feed posts. Many thanks to the LMDP staff for allowing us to share these images.

Hattie



Hattie's male