Ranging behaviour of hen harriers breeding in Special Protection Areas in Scotland

Capsule: Breeding female Hen Harriers hunted mostly within 1 km from the nest and males mostly within 2 km. Aims: To quantify temporal and spatial variation in home-range sizes and hunting distances of breeding male and female Hen Harriers. Methods: We radio-tracked ten breeding harriers (five males and five females) in three Special Protection Areas in Scotland between 2002 and 2004. Results: Male Hen Harriers travelled up to 9 km from nests but had a home-range size that averaged only 8 km2 (90% kernel); average home-range size for females was 4.5 km2. Hunting distances did not vary throughout the season. No significant differences were found among study areas, but there was large individual variability. Conclusion: Our results provide information on foraging harriers to support management: actions within 1 km of nesting sites will favour both sexes, and within 2 km will mostly favour males. Our data also suggest overlap between foraging areas of neighbouring birds. Thus, there is the potential for good foraging areas to be utilized by multiple breeding pairs.