This is really special.
Yorkshire-based sculptor Mark Butler and writer Gregory Norminton have collaborated to create a powerful piece of art to highlight the illegal killing of Hen Harriers on UK grouse moors, paying particular attention to those killed in Yorkshire.
Gregory chose to write about eight ‘sightings’ of Hen Harriers and pays tribute to 57 named and satellite-tagged Hen Harriers of the 147 known to have ‘disappeared’ or to have been illegally killed, on or close to grouse moors, since 2018.
Mark then chose eight of those Hen Harriers (ones that had vanished / been killed close to his home in the Yorkshire Dales) and created a ‘ghost sky dance’ sequence, routing a silhouette and painting it gold on burnt pallet wood, each with its own memorial plaque detailing the fate of the named harrier.
I’m not sure if I can persuade you with words alone of just how evocative this work is. I was really taken by both the idea and the photographs alone, but actually seeing and touching the wood, as well as smelling the acridity, made the piece come to life (ironically).
I’m also secretly pleased that Gregory and Mark both say they used this blog as inspiration for their creativity. There’s no better compliment.
The work sits within a wider project focusing on local species that are under threat, all chosen from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Nature Recovery Plan. It’s still a work in progress but the entire exhibition will be going on tour around Yorkshire from February 2027. If you get a chance to visit it, it’ll be time well spent.
For more information about the creation of the ghost sky dance, visit Mark’s website here and Gregory’s website here.
Raptor Persecution UK 
What an amazing piece of work
I once had the thought of somebody (not me, as it would need talent & ability) creating a series of Pennine Raptor Persecution Walking Maps. Along the lines of the Wainwright stuff, meandering around the the pertinent hotspots and leading to locations of incidents and corpses. Versions of these artworks could be used along these routes, but would need to be cheaply mass produced as they would ofcourse disappear overnight 😆
What a great idea. Legal implications though?
Aye, there will be that. The one category of people that have (and always have had, as they inaugerated a fair few laws themselves!) the best grip on the law…are the big landowners! And they are a sensitive bunch.