A satellite tagged bird has disappeared from Lancashire in suspicious circumstances after the RSPB reported 21 of the birds had either been killed or disappeared in the North of England in the past year.

Rush, an adult male Hen Harrier, has been spending time in Mallowdale in the Forest of Bowland throughout the spring until his tag unexpectedly stopped transmitting.

The bird, along with another that has also gone missing from North Yorkshire, was fitted with a satellite tag to gather information about the rare species.

Hen Harriers are on the red list of conservation concern, with illegal killing the key factor limiting their recovery.

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They are known for their acrobatic ‘skydancing’ courtship display, which they perform above upland moors in spring.

In England, there were 34 successful nests in 2022, despite a previous independent government report finding there is enough habitat and food to support more than 300 pairs.

These two birds are in addition to the 21 Hen Harriers that were reported as either killed or missing across northern England in the last year, including one found dead with its head pulled off.

A scientific study published in the journal Biological Conservation found survival rates of Hen Harriers were ‘unusually low’, and illegal killing was identified as a major cause.

Using data from the largest GPS tracking programme for Hen Harriers globally, the authors discovered individuals tracked by the project were typically living just 121 days after fledging.

The RSPB’s Birdcrime report found that, of the 108 confirmed incidents of bird of prey persecution in 2021, 71 per cent were in connection with gamebird shooting and, since 1990, 67 per cent of those convicted of raptor persecution offences were gamekeepers.

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Howard Jones, RSPB senior investigations officer, said: “To have two more Hen Harriers disappear this spring is a huge blow for a struggling species where every nest counts. These latest disappearances are being treated as suspicious by police.

“We hope the otherwise tragic news of these birds send a clear message that licensing of driven grouse shooting estates must be implemented to ensure all are operating within the law, and to protect birds like Hen Harriers from persistent persecution.”