In most of Europe, natural breeding habitats of Montagu's harriers have disappeared, forcing them into farmland. 60% of farmland nests would be destroyed in the absence of nest protection. Here, a combine passes by a protected Montagu's harrier nest in Groningen, the Netherlands. NB: This is a composite photo. Chicks of this age may flutter out of the cage from fear of the noise and end up in the combine harvester. For this reason, they were temporarily removed from the nest by Dutch Montagu's Harrier Foundation staff. Unfortunately, the pictured situation does occur as the Foundation is often not alerted when the harvest takes place.
A male Montagu's harrier named Joey carryies a prey to his nest in Groningen, the Netherlands. Researchers name all harriers equipped with GPS-backpacks.
