Photorealistic image of three adult harriers flying over a golden wheat field with chicks in nests and three men watching.

Last week, conservationists in England witnessed a rare miracle. Four Montagu’s harrier chicks successfully fledged—the first UK breeding success since 2019. Nesting secretly in a wheat field on private farmland, the pair was carefully monitored by the RSPB and a supportive farmer who erected a predator‑proof wire‑mesh fence around the nest. The male was ringed from a 2015 British nest; the female fledged in France in 2023, forming what experts call an “Anglo‑French alliance.” Their four fledglings took their maiden flights this week—offering a major boost for Britain’s rarest breeding bird. Conservationists hope this success could herald a new chapter in saving the species on British soil. See more