08/02/2026
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This is male hen harrier 'Frank'. He was probably the most celebrated male harrier and not without reason. He was ringed and fitted with a gps tracker as a nestling in August 2018 in Cumbria. He went on to fledge and breed polygamously on managed grouse moors here in the Yorkshire Dales with a number of females from 2019 to 2025. His potency as a productive male made him one of the most accomplished breeding hen harriers in the country with numerous eyasses to his credit. All his nests were on keepered grouse moors in the Dales.
As you can see, sadly Frank is now deceased. He was discovered recently some twelve or so miles east of Hull on farmland in Holderness. He was found by a field sports enthusiast, a shooter, falconer, wildfowler and deer stalker. His discovery was reported to both Natural England and the British Trust for Ornithology. This was an act of sincere goodwill but more importantly an exceptional event as the discovery was a chance encounter and could easily have never happened. As you can see the birds aerial has broken away from the device almost certainly from repetitive preening and flexing of the antenna. The transmitter shows signs of abrasion and wear and tear - this is not surprising as the attachment is seven plus years old. So how did Frank die?
After liaison with Natural England and following their instruction the birds carcass was sent direct to the Zoological Society of London for post mortem and other tests.
On receipt of the carcass the ZSL examined the bird and swabbed for Avian Influenza as is routine practice. The results revealed that Frank had succumbed to bird flu - in other words he died of natural causes.
Whilst this is devastating news for a bird with such fecundity the history of this bird needs to be shared.
Frank lived a long life. From fledging to later life he spent virtually all of his time on driven grouse moors. He was not persecuted. In fact he was supported over those years particularly during the breeding season by two gamekeepers who put food out for Frank and his female partners for many years. Licensed supplementary feeding by keepers no doubt aided the success of this bird as a breeding harrier and augmented his longevity. He lived one year longer than the average lifespan before bird flu eventually struck him down. His transmitter ceased to emit a signal in spring 2025 alarming raptor monitors and NE field staff. They raised suspicion and insinuated to local gamekeepers that persecution could be a factor behind the bird going 'off line'.
As is the practice a radio receiver was deployed to try and pick up signals on the 433MHZ frequency from the back up software within the transmitter. Nothing was detected. Suspicion and accusations began to circulate. Internal communications at NE determined the bird as missing/suspicious on a grouse moor.
A site visit by a NE field worker to a known nest in the area, incidentally a nest being monitored by the estate gamekeepers, revealed Frank was very much alive and well. He was visiting one of two broods that he had fathered. He was photographed and the defective transmitter (minus aerial) was recorded. Frank was alive. He was not missing. His transmitter had failed. Thereafter it was not possible to locate Frank electronically, the only way to record his whereabouts was by visual observation - not an easy feat.
Evidently Frank travelled east after the 2025 breeding season presumably in pursuit of passerines, voles and other prey items. This is not unusual. It is likely that he ingested bird flu from a prey item thus terminating his life quickly.
So what can we take from this chain of events?
Frank lived a good life on several managed grouse moors in the Yorkshire Dales. He wasn't persecuted he was cosseted. He was fed sometimes three times a day by keepers and he did a wondrous job of producing eyasses into double figures. During his later life he had a transmitter malfunction and disappeared off the radar. He was found completely by chance by a fellow shooting enthusiast who instantly reported the bird to the appropriate agency.
How many other birds meet similar fates but are never found and recorded as missing/suspicious?
