Hen Harrier Surveys – 2022 and next steps

As the Hen Harrier survey is nearing its end, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has spent time on the hills searching for Hen Harrier (whether you were fortunate enough to see Hen Harriers or not) over the last four months. Your efforts across the country will allow us to assess the status of Hen Harriers and determine their population trends since the last national survey and before this and this information will be used to inform the requirement for further conservation action for the species at this critical time, as well as to identify and to respond to on-going pressures on the population.

Those of you who had successful breeding pairs within your survey squares may still be watching young Hen Harriers as they start to gain independence and move away from the nest site, for others, surveys may have come to an end some weeks prior. Regardless, if you can make an effort to submit the survey data at your earliest convenience this would be greatly appreciated. The sooner that we have all the data compiled from across the country, the sooner we can begin assessing regional and national trends and answering some of the important questions which the survey data will hold.

You can submit data via the online data entry portal on the website, here: http://www.irishhenharriersurvey.com/hen-harrier-survey-data-submission/ or alternatively, you can send data to your regional coordinator via email (contact details on the website) or post (if the latter please ensure to scan or take photos of datasheets before sending to ensure the data is not lost).

In addition to the survey square/s that you covered, if you have any information on Hen Harriers in other areas (e.g. sightings and casual encounters etc.) please submit this information via the ‘Report a sighting’ portal on the website, here: http://www.irishhenharriersurvey.com/report-a-hen-harrier-sighting/

Please ensure to submit data for all survey visits and regardless of your findings in relation to Hen Harrier, it is just as important to know where Hen Harrier are absent as where they are still present.

If you have any queries on data submission or if there is anything that we can assist with, please contact your regional coordinator and we will be happy to help.

A massive thank you once again for contributing your time towards the Hen Harrier Survey, you have played a vital role in improving our understanding of Hen Harrier populations and we look forward to showing you the results of your efforts in due course.