Stonehenge 181
Image by jimit

They shot a hen harrier?!!! I thought that was the most protected species in the UK? We have a pair on Carningli -- last year they helped to save the mountain from a bunch of nutters who wanted to spray the slopes with Asulox, to kill the bracken. Give me bracken rather than Asulox any day.

Yes, it was a young male that had flown up from Bowland, apparently. There was a small breeding population but it was cleaned out. There isn't much police presence in the middle of nowhere and I found the wildlife liason officer (1 for entire Northumberland) unmotivated, at best. The slpoes are sprayed with Asulox from a helicopter every two or three years. It's also illegal as they're all on environmental schemes. This has been my first summer out of the field and I have appreciated the lack of stress, as the keepers used to persecute me too. It's Britain's best grouse moor, by bag. The keepers also prevent anyone from going to see the ancient remains. It's just how it is.