The mysterious disappearance of rare birds

A rare bird of prey has mysteriously disappeared when its information satellite card stopped transmitting after it flew over Snowdonia.

An information satellite card will continue to transmit signals even when the bird dies, and with the disappearance of another bird in February, police suspect this is related to crime.

The last known location of the Heulwen blue buzzard is near Ruabon Mountain, Wrexham, on August 29.

The number of blue buzzards has been recovering since the 1950s. There are 35 pairs of birds in Wales.

Dr Cathleen Thomas of the Royal Society for Bird Protection (RSPB) said: 'Only a few weeks ago, we were celebrating the success of being a bird breeder throughout the UK, but these young birds are disappearing. in suspicious situations when only a few months old. We, who are involved in observing and protecting these young birds, are very sad, and it is a serious problem with an endangered species that continues to decline. '

Although she said it was unclear what happened to Heulwen, one of the main factors limiting the number of blue urchins as ' illegal killing' is related to the strict management of chicken hunting grounds. wood.

Heulwen was tagged at a bird nest in Gwynedd as part of an EU-funded project, before flying over Snowdonia toward Wrexham.

Heulwen flew from Gwynedd, via Snowdonia, towards Wrexham.

While transmitting signals regularly, its satellite signals suddenly stopped, and its final location searches of the RSPB found no sign.

Previously in February, another blue buzzard disappeared, Aalin. Aalin was born in Man Island and arrived in Wales in 2016.

Its information satellite card also stopped transmitting near Ruabon Mountain.

According to the RSPB, the blue buzzard is one of the most abused bird hunters in the UK - (Andy Hay / RSPB Images).

Rob Taylor of the North Wales Police Department called this disappearance 'very disturbing' , adding: 'This time we will not conclude in a hurry about the investigation'.

While the number of blue buzzards has been declining over the years, the latest 2016 survey shows that pairs of birds in Wales have dropped from 57 to 35 pairs in 6 years - the lowest figure in more than a decade.