28 BBC WILDLIFE December 2021
POO:ALEXANDER^ KOPATZ/NORWEGIAN^INSTITUTEFOR^ NATURE^ RESEARCH;WOLF:^JOHNDLINNELL/NORWEGIAN^INSTITUTEFOR^ NATURE^ RESEARCH;HENHARRIER:^ERIC^MÉDARDD
uring the winter months, hen
harriers roost communally. The roosts
are on the ground, among tussocky
grass and in reedbeds. Sometimes,
especially in southern England,
they choose downs or heaths. This
behaviour, shared with marsh harriers, is a
little unusual for raptors and sadly makes
these magnificent birds very vulnerable to
anyone minded to persecute them.
In late afternoon as the light fades,
the harriers begin to drift in to the roost.
There is an ease to hen harrier flight that
is breathtaking; they seem to row through
the air without any effort at all, hugging
the ground and following its contours.
They glide frequently between beats, on
wings lifted in a ‘V’. Females and juveniles,
nicknamed ‘ringtails’, are mostly brown, with
a contrasting white rump and barred tail.
But the ghostly, pale-grey males are what
most birders are hoping to see in the
gathering gloom. BHHen harriers come to
roost in the fading light
Unlike their domestic cousins, the poo of a
grey wolf isn’t completely nausea-inducing.
“A fresh wolf scat doesn’t have a strong or
bad smell, instead it’s bit spicy or like herbs,”
says Alexander Kopatz from
the Norwegian Institute
for Nature Research.
Normally grey-brown in
colour, with the twist at
the end that’s typical for
canids, the size of wolf
scat can vary depending
on the animal and what
it’s been eating recently.
Megan ShersbyPOO
CORNER
Grey wolf
Ghost
in the
gloom
ID GUIDEThe hen
harrier is the
UK’s most
persecuted
bird of preyTraces of fur and bone
reveal what Mr Wolf has
been eating latelyListen
to Chris
Packham
present the hen harrier
on Tweet of the Day