A pair of Montagu’s harriers have raised four chicks in an English wheat field, the first success for Britain’s rarest breeding bird since 2019.
The fledglings took their maiden flights this week after being closely monitored by the RSPB and the local farmer, with a protective wire-mesh fence installed around the nest to repel predators such as foxes.
The location is being kept secret because it is private farmland, but also to enable the young birds to feed up and grow in strength without disturbance from over-enthusiastic birders.
The Montagu’s harrier has long been a rare species in Britain but after a recent high of nine successful nests in 2011 its population has dwindled, with no fledging successes for six summers.
The migratory raptor overwinters in sub-Saharan Africa before heading north to nest in Europe, often in arable fields. In recent decades its nests have been accidentally destroyed by agricultural intensification, such as mechanised harvesting and crop-spraying, as well as breeding birds struggling in wetter summers.
In its remaining strongholds, such as France and Spain, many nests in cereal fields are protected from ground-nesting predators by installing temporary small metal fences around them.
The pair were first spotted in May and closely monitored by a local volunteer and the RSPB, with a drone being used under licence to locate the nest. Once the youngsters hatched, the nest was protected with fencing earlier this month.
Mark Thomas, the species lead for Montagu’s harriers at the RSPB and an expert in protecting vulnerable birds of prey, said: “We are overjoyed that a pair have returned, they managed to find each other and through the close protection of a dedicated farmer and the RSPB have managed to raise four youngsters.”
The farmer, who is not named to protect the location, said: “It’s fantastic to have these amazing birds on the farm and a just reward for the extensive conservation work we have been undertaking for decades.”
Adult harriers are often site-faithful, raising hopes they may return to the same spot next summer.
Rings on the parent birds have revealed that the male is a long-lived bird from a British nest in 2015, while the female fledged from a French nest in 2023.
Thomas added: “This Anglo-French alliance could just be the springboard needed to save this species in Britain.”
This article by Patrick Barkham was first published by The Guardian on 30 July 2025. Lead Image: The Montagu’s harrier population has dwindled in the last decade. Photograph: Arterra Picture Library/Alamy.
Wildlife in catastrophic decline
The 73% decline in vertebrate wildlife populations during the last 50 years (mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish), is primarily driven by human activities that threaten biodiversity.
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