Three organisations including BirdWatch Ireland, An Taisce and the Environmental Pillar, are urging the public to get behind their ‘Save the Skydancer’ campaign to halt the decline of the hen harrier.
A survey published earlier this month suggested that the current national hen harrier population has dropped to 85 to 106 breeding pairs – which represents a decline of one-third (33%) in the total population since the 2015 national survey, which previously recorded 108 to 157 pairs.
According to BirdWatch Ireland, An Taisce and the Environmental Pillar “without urgent action” Ireland may have just 25 years until the skydancer – the hen harrier – vanishes from our skies.
In January, the Minister for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, launched a public consultation on the draft Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan.
According to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage the hen harrier typically forages over ground that is rich in prey – with medium, small-sized birds and small mammals – in areas such as grasslands and winter stubble.
This plan is now out for public consultation until 5:00p.m on February 20, 2024 to give members of the public a chance to have their say on the skydancer’s future.
Once this plan is signed off it will last from 2024 to 2028.
It currently includes a range of actions, “primarily focused on the agricultural, forestry and wind energy development sectors to reverse, minimise and avoid the pressure these sectors place on this declining species,” according to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
But BirdWatch Ireland, An Taisce and the Environmental Pillar are now urging people from every county to make a submission to the draft Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan public consultation and let the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) know that the hen harrier is important to them.
They believe this could be the “last real opportunity” to save the species from extinction.
The three organisations are adamant that the Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan must be “ambitious and fit-for-purpose” and they believe that the plan must focus on three core objectives:
- Protecting all nationally important hen harrier breeding and wintering grounds from afforestation, forest management activities, wind energy development and other pressures;
- Restoring habitat across all nationally important breeding and wintering sites using clear restoration targets and timelines;
- Guaranteeing long-term support for farmers through well-funded results-based schemes across all nationally important breeding and wintering grounds”.