12:20pm Thursday 13th August 2009By Martin Lea »
WILDLIFE guardians in Weymouth are celebrating some important new arrivals.
The first marsh harriers to breed in Dorset in almost 50 years have successfully raised three chicks.
Being born at the RSPB reserve at Radipole Lake just 10 minutes walk from Weymouth town centre, the chicks are thought to be the most urban of their species to fledge in the British Isles.
Their parents’ arrival at the reserve was seen as significant and was filmed for the BBC television programme Springwatch.
Reserve manager Nick Tomlinson explained how staff suspected something was happening when the birds were seen performing a courtship display known as ‘sky dancing’.
He said one or two harriers usually spent winter at the reserve but this was the first time a pair had stayed beyond the spring.
RSPB spokesman Nick Quintrell said it was ‘amazing’ to have such iconic birds a stone’s throw from the heart of Weymouth.
He said: “This is an incredible success story for the reserve and for Weymouth as it puts us on the map.
“People have been flocking to Radipole from far and wide throughout the three months that the pair have been nesting, and this seems set to increase with their family now on the wing.
“Kids in particular seem fascinated, showing a macabre relish for watching them hunt and carry prey such as rats, rabbits and on one occasion a large toad.”
At the turn of the 20th century the birds were extinct in this country as a breeding species due to persecution and loss of habitat. Numbers improved slightly but by the 1970s there was just one remaining pair in Suffolk.
However improved management of the birds’ wetland habitat has allowed numbers to recover.
Nick Quintrell said: “A great deal of hard work has been carried out at Radipole in recent years to improve the habitat and to get a top predator like marsh harriers successfully fledging young is a strong indication that this work is paying dividends.
“It is the first time that marsh harriers have bred in Dorset for almost half a century.”
Visitors wishing to see the birds can call into the RSPB Visitor Centre in the corner of the Swannery car park.
It is stressed that time is of the essence as soon the birds will depart.
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/4543386.Delight_at_lake_as_harrier_chicks_are_raised/
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