One of the UK’s rarest birds has been spotted in a St Albans beauty spot for the first time in nearly ten years.
The hen harrier was seen in Heartwood Forest for the first time since the Woodland Trust began developing the site in 2008.
The bird was once widespread across Britain, but it has endured decades of persecution, which first forced this bird of prey out of mainland Britain by 1900.
But one the birds was spotted over Christmas by on-site volunteer Murray Brown.
He said: "Hen harriers are very rare passage migrants and winter visitors to Hertfordshire and this bird may have arrived from the continent to take advantage of our relatively mild winters.
"In the UK, hen harriers are threatened as a breeding species as they are still illegally persecuted by grouse-shooting interests.
"Three English nests were successful in 2014 due to 24 hour protection but in 2013, hen harriers failed to breed in England at all."
Hen harriers are almost owl-like in their facial appearance, which distinguishes them from other hawks.
Louise Neicho, Woodland Trust site manager, added: "The arrival of the hen harrier, along with the presence of short-eared owls, barn owls, little owls, red kites, buzzards and high numbers of kestrels also shows that there are plenty of small mammals on site too.
"This diversity of wildlife is great for visitors to see and also demonstrates the value of the habitats we’ve helped improve."
So far over 460,000 trees have been planted on site and the next public planting event is on March 14. For more information, click here.
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