ONE of England’s most endangered birds of prey, the hen harrier, could be released into the wild in the New Forest in a matter of years.

With just ten breeding pairs counted in England last year, Natural England is drawing up plans to reintroduce the bird into its former ranges.

While the government conservation agency yesterday stressed no sites had been selected, the New Forest has been touted as one possible location.

A spokesman said: “Despite conservation, hen harrier numbers have not increased quickly enough. We are therefore looking at reintroducing the bird at a number of sites.

Any area where they lived in the past will be looked at, including the New Forest.”

The bird’s decline has been blamed on persecution on hunting moors in the Pennines and the Peak District where the harrier prey on grouse chicks. The RSPB today welcomed the move. A spokesman said: “It would be great to see hen harriers breeding more widely across the UK in places like the New Forest.

“A lot of work will need to be done before possible sites can be identified but clearly the New Forest is one Natural England is likely to consider, given that it is a large area of rendered heathland and has supported hen harriers in the past.”

However Stephen Tapper, from the Game and Conservation Wildlife Trust, said the bird would struggle to breed in the New Forest because of foxes.

“The New Forest would not be one of the sites that I would suggest. For a start they do not breed there and they have never done very well. I would have thought an upland location such as Dartmoor or Bodmin Moor to be more suitable,” he said.