Sheffield MP wins award for championing endangered hen harrier found in the Peak District

The hen harrier, often known as Sky Dancers due to the males’ swooping aerobatic mating displays, are one of the rarest and most persecuted species in the country. They are classified as red under the Birds of Conservation Concern and protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Ms Blake has been campaigning to protect them in partnership with the RSPB since 2021.

As part of her work, she helped secure a partial ban on the burning of peatlands – which are an important breeding ground for hen harriers and a source of carbon emissions.

She also tagged a hen harrier chick while shadow minister for nature, water and flooding. This provides important information about how the birds spend their first few years of life and how they survive. It has also shown some suddenly disappearing or being illegally killed often on or near grouse moors.

Her efforts were recognised by the Muddy Welly award, presented by Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden at an RSPB event.

Ms Blake said: “I am so pleased to have been given this award. It has been a privilege working with the RSPB and other groups to champion the hen harrier.

“Hen harriers are a precious and magnificent species deserving of our protection, more urgently something needs to be done to end their deliberate killing and protect their habitats.

“I am looking forward to continuing to work with the RSPB to champion this precious species, in parliament and out in the Peaks.”

Martin Randall, RSPB operations director, said, “She has been a fantastic and long standing advocate for the hen harrier both in parliament and in her constituency and we look forward to continuing our work with her.”

Hen harriers under threat

The last population survey in 2016 showed there were only 575 territorial pairs of hen harriers left in the British Isles; this was a steep decline of 24 per cent since 2004.

Last year, two male hen harriers disappeared in the Peak District which led to two active nests being abandoned, each containing five eggs. This meant the loss of 10 chicks as well as two adult birds.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said this was a “real step backwards” for the species as breeding was sporadic in the Peak District with only seven successful nesting attempts in the last 24 years – three of which were since 2018.