Durham Bird Club at 50

The county avifauna, The Birds of Durham (Bowey and Newsome, 2012) records that “A public meeting in late 1974 at Sunderland Museum and Art Gallery to discuss bird watching and recording was well-attended. This was followed on 8 January 1975 by another meeting and enrolment for membership of the Durham Bird Club began shortly afterwards.”

We shall be organising various projects and events during the year to commemorate this special anniversary. These include a "Bird of the Week" feature, appearing below.

Bird of the Week - Week 7

Hen Harrier – A Ghost of the Uplands

(Photo by Mark Harper)

There are few birds as thrilling to see as a Hen Harrier. If you’ve ever watched a male drift low over the moor, ghostly pale with black-tipped wings, or seen a brown female ringtail weaving effortlessly over rough grassland, you’ll know just how special an encounter with one can be.

Numbers of resident Hen Harriers are boosted by winter visitors to County Durham, with birds arriving from upland breeding sites further north to hunt over our moors, lowland farmland, and coastal grasslands. Their low, buoyant flight, almost like a large owl skimming the land, is unmistakable. Watching one quarter back and forth before suddenly dropping onto unseen prey is one of winter’s great birding moments.

Hen Harriers are incredible hunters, but their story is a troubled one. They remain one of the most persecuted birds of prey in the UK, and their numbers remain worryingly low. Despite this, there has been some hope in recent years, with gradually increasing reports of pairs nesting and successfully fledging young in County Durham.

In spring, breeding males put on one of the most spectacular displays in nature - sky dancing, a dramatic series of loops, dives, and twists performed high above the moors to impress a watching female. If she’s interested, she’ll join in, and the pair will exchange food mid-air in a breathtaking courtship display.

If you’ve been lucky enough to see a Hen Harrier recently, we’d love to hear about it. Where was it? What was it doing? If you haven’t yet seen one, now’s a good time to start looking - find an open, windswept landscape, scan low over the ground, and you might just catch sight of one of our most captivating birds.

Seen a Hen Harrier? Let us know in the comments! Share your sightings, photos, or just tell us what you love about these incredible birds.

More information on Hen Harriers

E-mail: durhambirdclub@gmail.com

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