Hen Harrier

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Hen Harrier in the UK

A scarce resident and winter visitor, Red-listed and protected under Schedule 1. The 2023 national survey found 691 territorial pairs in the UK and Isle of Man, 653 of them in the UK. That was up 20% on the 545 pairs in 2016. Scotland held 529 pairs, Wales 40, Northern Ireland 34 and England 50, up from four. The total is still far below what the habitat could support. Illegal killing linked to driven grouse shooting is the main factor holding numbers down. In winter, British birds move to lower ground and are joined by some from the Continent.

Where and when to see a Hen Harrier

In the breeding season, Orkney, the Outer and Inner Hebrides, the Isle of Man and upland Wales give the best chance of a bird hunting over moorland, watched from roads and public paths. Keep well away from any bird that calls or circles overhead. From October to March, look on coastal marshes, fens and lowland heaths: the Dee Estuary, north Norfolk, the Fens and the north Kent marshes all have regular birds. The last two hours of daylight are best, when harriers quarter low over rough ground.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Moorland, coastal marshes.
Diet: Voles, small birds.
Field note: Persecuted; pale grey male, brown female.

How to identify a Hen Harrier

Slimmer than a Buzzard, with long wings and a long tail. It hunts low and slow, wings raised in a shallow V, tilting from side to side. The male is pale grey with a white belly, a white rump and solid black wingtips. Females and young birds, called ringtails, are brown above and streaked below, with a white rump and a banded tail. The face has an owl-like ruff. The wingtip shows five fingers, which gives a broader hand than the two rarer grey harriers.

Call and song

Silent for most of the year. Near the nest it gives a fast, chattering 'chek-ek-ek-ek', and the female a thin, wailing whistle when the male brings food. Winter birds very rarely call. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Montagu's Harrier: Montagu's is a slighter summer visitor with narrower, pointed wings showing four fingers, and the male has black bars across the wing and rusty streaks below.
• Pallid Harrier: Pallid is slim and four-fingered. Males are ghostly pale with a narrow black wedge at the wingtip, and juveniles have plain orange underparts and a pale collar.
• Marsh Harrier: Marsh Harrier is bulkier and broader-winged with no white rump. Females are dark brown with a cream head.

Related guide UK raptors and owls.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Hen Harrier is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is Red-listed in Birds of Conservation Concern 5, the highest level of concern in the UK. It is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so it is an offence to disturb it at or near the nest. We blur the location of every sighting of this species.

Where to see it

Reserves where the Hen Harrier is on the list:

• WWT Caerlaverock
• Islay

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Montagu's HarrierRare · Cereal fields (very rare breeder)
• Marsh HarrierUncommon · Reedbeds
• Northern HarrierLegendary · Marsh (very rare)
• Pallid HarrierEpic · Open ground (rare passage)
• Short-eared OwlUncommon · Moorland
• American Golden PloverRare · Coastal turf (autumn passage)

Hen Harrier: quick answers

Where can I see a Hen Harrier in the UK?

Orkney is the most reliable place in summer, with birds visible from roadsides across the moorland. In winter, pick a large coastal marsh or fen reserve and watch from a viewpoint over rough grass in the late afternoon. Ringtails outnumber grey males.

Why is the Hen Harrier rare in the UK?

It eats grouse chicks as well as voles and pipits, which puts it in conflict with driven grouse shooting. Satellite-tagged birds disappear on or near grouse moors at a rate that natural deaths cannot explain. England has room for hundreds of pairs but held 50 in 2023.

What is a Hen Harrier skydance?

The male's spring display. He climbs steeply, flips over and plunges, then repeats it in a long rollercoaster flight over the territory, sometimes dozens of times. Later he passes food to the female in mid-air.

Kit that helps

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