One nest was known to have been robbed and another was suspected of having been so. The number of chicks known to fledge was 219 and it is the first time since the releases began that the number of fledged young recorded has decreased on the previous year (246 chicks from 132 pairs). Two females were found dead, one on the nest and one below, both of these were thought to have died from ingesting rat-poison.
The group tagged 49 chicks with a white tag on the right wing and a yellow tag on the left with the usual corresponding bar of opposite colour. This is a lower percentage of all fledged chicks than usual as the group were concentrating on providing 30 young for relocation and with the poor productivity this was proving difficult. In the event only 23 young were made available for re-introductions in the north.
Many nests, when visited, were devoid of prey items, a very unusual occurrence in previous years.
