Joy at successful breeding by rare Montagu's harriers

A PAIR of Britain's rarest breeding birds have successfully reared chicks at a secret location protected by conservationists and the farmer whose land they nested on.

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The Montagu's harrier has not successfully bred in the UK since 2019, but this year a pair of the migratory birds of prey have managed to raise four healthy youngsters.

Montagu's harriers winter in Africa and return to Europe to nest, often setting up home in agricultural fields particularly winter sown cereals in the UK and can return to the same location each year.

Their previous strongholds in Spain and France are struggling because of more intensive agriculture, earlier harvesting dates and wetter summers.

In the UK they have declined from a high of nine successful nests in 2011, with the species placed on the “red list” of birds most at risk in 2021, the RSPB said.