Donal Hickey: Breeding habits of harrier

Some new insights into the extinction-threatened hen harrier have come to light in a study by a rural development group in Co Cork, writes Donal Hickey.

The study aims to learn more about where harrier chicks go once they leave the breeding grounds; how many survive their first year and where and when they return to nest. A satellite-tagging programme was started, in 2016, by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the EU-funded RaptorLife project, based in the Newmarket headquarters of IRD Duhallow.