THE disappearance of a tagged hen harrier has prompted a joint investigation by Durham Police and the RSPB.

Marc was one of two hen harrier chicks tagged from a nest in the Scottish Borders as part of the EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE+ project last July.

His tag had been transmitting regularly until it suddenly stopped last month. Data from Marc’s tag indicated he was in an area of driven grouse moor near Middleton-in-Teesdale when it failed inexplicably at 2.04pm on February 5.

Hen harriers are one of the UK’s rarest raptors. Many others have gone missing in similar circumstances in England and Scotland since the tagging project began in 2015. This includes Marc’s brother, Manu, who went missing in October 2017. His last known location was also close to a grouse moor.

Mark Thomas, RSPB principal specialist said: “Hen harriers are facing an uncertain future: these spectacular birds should be flourishing in our uplands but studies show that we are down to just a handful of pairs in England with illegal persecution identified as a prime factor. So it’s depressing when yet another hen harrier goes off the radar like this, especially when the supporting tag data is so precise.”

A Durham Police spokeswoman said: “We are very concerned at the disappearance of one of these iconic birds of prey. Hen harriers are fully protected by law and raptor persecution is a national wildlife crime priority. We urge you to come forward if you have any information about the disappearance of this bird.”

Anyone with information, should contact Durham Police on 101 quoting incident reference ref 163 2022018 or the confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300-999-0101.

Anyone who finds a wild bird which they suspect has been illegally killed, should contact RSPB Investigations on 01767-680551