Bijzondere nestplaats van een paartje Blauwe Kiekendief Circus cyaneus in Drenthe

On 21 June 1996, a Hen Harrier nest with 3 eggs was found in woodland, i.e in the Forestry of Gieten/Borger (province of Drenthe). The nest was built on the ground in a stand of Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii (height of trees 15 m), some 700 m away from the nearest farmland and only 4 m away from the nearest path (Photo 2). The nest was built of dead Douglas fir twigs, including some material from birch and larch, and measured 75 cm in diameter (nest cup 45 cm) and 15 cm in height. Two eggs hatched, the third egg measured 43.49x36.06 mm and did not hatch (Photo 1). The nest was depredated when the nestlings were some 3 weeks old, probably by a fox Vulpes vulpes. Although the foraging sites of the adult birds remained unknown, it is thought that the presence of setaside land near the forestry (abundance of common voles Microtus arvalis) may have caused the birds to settle in the vicinity. The Hen Harrier is a rare and irregular breeding bird on the Dutch mainland, including the province of Drenthe.