Henry orders a Carbofuran-free mippit omelette with a side order of voles. He’s feeding up because he’s on his way to the badlands and doesn’t know when he’ll next find a safe meal.
After dinner his minders are taking him to the Pictures to see this new release from the Haltwhistle Film Project.
Henry visited Stonehenge to consult the Druids.
He asked where he might find a girlfriend.
The Druids told him that although their prophecies are legendary, even they couldn’t answer that one.
Henry is visiting Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Owned by the Ministry of Defence, this is an important winter roost site for Hen Harriers.
Despite the shells and mortar bombs, this site is safer for Hen Harriers than on driven grouse moors. Says it all, really.
Henry was escorted by his friends Michael Groves (a volunteer with the South Wiltshire Owl & Raptor Nest Box Project) and Nick Adams (Wiltshire Raptor Group).
Henry’s still not found a girlfriend so he calls the RSPB’s Hen Harrier Hotline (0845-4600121) for tips on where he might find one.
#HaveYouSeenHenry
Most of the people Henry met in the Upper Derwent Valley had never even heard of a hen harrier, let alone the dire straits they’re in thanks to the criminal actions of some grouse moor owners and their gamekeepers.
They have now!
#HaveYouSeenHenry
Today, Henry was skydancing at a significant site in the Upper Derwent Valley.
This location is significant because last year, 570 sodden protesters and a hen harrier called Harry came here to celebrate Hen Harrier Day and to call for an end to the illegal killing of hen harriers.
Back in the Goyt Valley in the Derbyshire Peak District National Park, one of Henry’s burly minders buys him an ice cream as they discuss an important question (see here).
Henry decides to leg it from Chatsworth. Nice tea rooms but not enough girls to keep him here.
He should have been over at the Dee Estuary (see here).
Today Henry is visiting the Chatsworth Estate in the Derbyshire Peak District.
The bloke who lives in this mansion is called Peregrine and his late mum used to go grouse shooting with the late Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.
Henry sky-danced all over the front lawns but unfortunately there weren’t any females around to see him.
Today Henry is dancing around the National Trust’s High Peak Estate looking for a girl.
And wondering why he doesn’t feature as a ‘Sentinel of the Moors’ on that National Trust sign. Here’s what it says:
The strange cackling call of the red grouse
The mournful wail of the golden plover
The bubbling cry of the curlew
These sounds symbolise the wild mystery of the moors.
If you are lucky you might see a merlin, dashing low over the heather, or a short-eared owl floating ghost-like in the mist.
These birds inspired myths and legends in the past.
Today they tell us how important this fragile landscape is for some of our most threatened wildlife.
The National Trust is managing the habitat so visitors can enjoy forever the sights and sounds of this special place.
Raptor Persecution UK 