Slaapplaatstellingen van Blauwe Kiekendieven Circus cyaneus op Schouwen-Duiveland

Wintering Hen Harriers in the southwestern Netherlands were mainly seen hunting near wet grassland fringed with rough herbage, and over saltmarshes. Monocultures of grassland were largely avoided. Food was studied by means of pellet analysis (found at roosts), prey remains found in the hunting areas and prey identified during successful hunting flights. Voles (Microtus arvalis and M. oedicnemus), shrews (Sorex araneus) and passerines (mostly Anthus pratensis, Alauda arvensis, finches and sparrows, and Sturnus vulgaris) dominated the diet (Table 1). On the roosts, female Hen Harriers were more numerous than males in the winters of 2000/01 through 2005/06, with a slight preponderance of adult birds. Males were scarce, and the majority was in adult plumage (Table 2).