The Hen Harrier: in the Shadow of Slemish

There seem to have been a plethora of books on Hen Harriers published in the last year or so. Indeed, Don Scott’s previous book on the subject was reviewed in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of BTO News. This is a species that obviously generates lots of interest and even more dedication from the people that study them. Don’s previous book looked at the harrier family around the world and in it he wrote a chapter on the Hen Harriers of Northern Ireland, which he has studied for many years.

This book carries on with this story, looking at the last quarter century of the small population of Hen Harriers living in the Glens of Antrim in Northern Ireland, a former stronghold. Don and his colleague Philip McHaffie have been watching, studying and recording all aspects of the harriers’ lives and the problems they are facing.

One remarkable discovery involved tree-nesting behaviour, which had been considered extremely rare in Hen Harriers, but in this population has been found to be relatively frequent, with some females habitually adopting this nesting strategy.

As with other books in this series, it is very detailed and thorough and contains an undertone throughout of the conflict between the people who spend huge amounts of their time (and money!) voluntarily studying these animals and the bigger organisations. The author pulls no punches.

Book reviewed by Su Gough