THE hen harrier, one of Ireland’s rarest birds of prey, is back in the news with confirmation that plans are going ahead to designate areas for its protection.

A FULL public consultation process will be undertaken wherever sites are proposed for designation as hen harrier Special Protection Areas (SPAs), said Junior Environment Minister Batt O’Keeffe, when he recently announced that preparatory scientific work to confirm the suitability of possible sites and to define their boundaries is under way.