East Scotland Sea Eagles

It has been 34 years since sea eagles first started breeding on Mull and the population there and the surrounding mainland peninsulas has gone from strength to strength. There are 21 breeding pairs on Mull alone and the total population of individuals in the area must run into the hundreds. For a young East Scotland sea eagle that fledged in the glens of Angus where there are just a handful of other sea eagles around…

The breeding season here in East Scotland has been a story of mixed fortunes for our sea eagles. The male sea eagle Turquoise Z, who last year raised chicks on nests in Angus and Fife, chose to concentrate on the Angus nest rather than attempt to repeat the marathon two nest season of 2017. Unfortunately they failed at some point during incubation of the eggs, meaning there were no successful nests in the southern half…

The last 6 months have been an eventful time for both the animal kingdom and the East Scotland Sea Eagle Schools' project, what with bitterly cold northerly winds for weeks on the end, the infamous 'Beast from the East' and more recently the hottest, driest June on record for some time.

'Spring trying it's best despite the harsh winter conditions'  Photo Credit: S.Rasmussen

Just as the wildlife…

In March the satellite-tag fitted to the young sea eagle known as Blue X suddenly stopped transmitting in the Glen Quaich area of Highland Perthshire, an area dominated by land managed for driven grouse shooting. Her disappearance is described by RSPB Scotland as ‘highly suspicious’. It is important to understand what we mean by this, as we’re often accused of ‘trial by media’ without corroborating evidence in cases like…

Sea eagles are very resilient birds. They can withstand freezing temperatures, snow storms, day after day of heavy rain and gale force winds, making use of their large size and insulating feathers to survive the cold. Here in East Scotland our satellite-tagged young sea eagles have spent much of the winter in the harshest environment Scotland has to offer; the Cairngorms. So when the ‘beast from the east’ hit the east…

Once again Tentsmuir Forest and NNR will play host this year to over 500 children keen to learn about the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to East Scotland. 

Following the success of last year's outdoor learning sessions based at the reserve, pupils from primary schools throughout Perth & Kinross and Fife will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities that bring the breeding cycle of the sea…

In November we caught up with 3 satellite-tagged young sea eagles from previous years nests in East Scotland. In this blog we will look at the progress made by the 4 latest additions to the East Scotland sea eagle population that hatched in 2017. These young birds came from 3 successful sea eagle nests, one in Fife, one in Angus and one in Speyside.

A fascinating story developed at the Fife and Angus nests which we detailed…

Earlier in the year pupils from Tayport primary attended a ‘Celebrating Nature with Schools’ session to learn about the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to East Scotland. Following their day of outdoor learning they were invited to deepen their knowledge about their local environment further by participating in Scottish Natural Heritage’s schools camera trapping project.

The project was designed…

Satellite tagging is an important tool of modern conservation science and it is leading to a whole new understanding of sea eagle behaviour in Scotland and around the world. You can find out more about satellite tagging from RSPB Scotland’s head of species and land management here. The particular devices we use weigh 90 grams, or between 1.2 and 1.8% of the birds’ weight. They’re solar powered and fitted with a…

Sea Eagle Project Officer Owen Selly tells the story of a fascinating discovery

In the spring of 2013, six years after the first release of sea eagles into the Fife countryside after more than 150 years of absence, a few of these magnificent birds started to build nests in East Scotland. A pair of 2009 release birds built their first nest in a Forest Enterprise Scotland woodland in Fife , whilst a 2008 release female…

It's been a busy 7 months for 'Celebrating Nature with Schools' team and I'm delighted to say we have reached the milestone of engaging 750 local primary pupils from Perth & Kinross, Dundee, Angus and Fife with the project. 

Thanks to £20,000 of funding from players of the People's Postcode Lottery and People's Postcode Trust we have been able to provide transport for schools to join us at…

We're running our popular sea eagle guided walks at Tentsmuir again this summer in partnership with Forest Enterprise Scotland. Join us for a 4 km walk along Tentsmuir beach in the search for these magnificent birds of prey that use the coastline as a hunting ground. The walks are on Wednesday 26 July, Saturday 29 July, Saturday 5 August and Wednesday 9 August, and start at the picnic area by the Kinshaldy car park at…

An update on our east coast sea eagles from Owen Selly (Sea Eagle Project Officer)

In 2016, two sea eagle chicks fledged from nests in East Scotland. White Diamond (named after the identifying wing tags), a female, fledged from a nest in Speyside and White L, a male, fledged from a nest in a Forest Enterprise Scotland woodland in Fife (see here). Both birds were fitted with satellite tags that allow us to monitor their…

It's been a busy time throughout the winter for the 'Celebrating Nature with Schools' project. Since the first hardy primary class in November there have been 10 further schools from Dundee, Angus, Perth & Kinross and Fife, joining us at Tentsmuir NNR to learn about the return of our magnificent white-tailed eagles

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Groups have explored the yearly life cycle of the local pair who hunt along the Tay E…

With autumn in the air and the leaves a blaze of colour, it's a brilliant time of year for children to get outside and learn about the nature on our doorstep.  Thanks to funding by the People's Postcode Lottery we are delighted to announce the launch of a brand new project; Celebrating Nature with Schools.

We are excited to offer P5-P7 pupils in Perth and Kinross, Fife, Dundee and Angus the opportunity to join…

For the second year in a row, our pair of white-tailed eagles in Fife have hatched twins! This will be the pair’s fourth breeding attempt, having started breeding for the first time in 2013. The adults (2009 released “Turquoise 1” and “Z” after their wing tags) fledged single chicks in 2013 and 2014, and last year for the first time they hatched twins. Sadly, the second chick died in the nest of natural causes at around…

2015 saw five chicks fledge from territories across the East of Scotland. Two pairs that had not been successful before fledged twins – one of these pairs was in the Angus glens. This pair attempted in 2014 but failed before the eggs hatched. On closer analysis it was found that the eggs were infertile - probably due to the inexperience of the male who at the time was just three years old. In 2015 however, the pair raised…

It is with great sadness that we are finally able to announce that the young white-tailed eagle which fledged from the Fife nest in 2014 has come to grief. His carcase was recovered in April 2015 on farmland near Pitlochry, lying below an electricity distribution pole. “14White A” as he was known after the colour and letter on his wing tags, was fitted with a satellite transmitter which ceased to function, prompting a…

Turquoise 1 and Z have done it again. The six year old pair of white-tailed eagles that bred for the first time in 2013 in a Forestry Commission wood in Fife have fledged their third chick this year. The recently fledged youngster was tagged with a white wing tag with the letter “T”, and thanks to Forestry Commission Scotland, was fitted with a GSM transmitter so that it’s dispersal can be monitored closely. This chick…

As some of you might already know, 2015 is a very special year for sea eagles in Scotland. It has been 40 years since the first sea eagle chicks from Norway were released and 30 years since the first wild chick fledged. This anniversary year has also seen the sea eagle re-introduction programme reach the important milestone of 100 breeding pairs in Scotland.

To celebrate these significant achievements and the successes…

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A HUGE thanks to Karen Hartnell for yet another amazing cartoon!

Forty years since white-tailed eagles were re-introduced to Scotland these magnificent birds have reached the important milestone of 100 breeding pairs. As revealed by Iolo Williams on last night’s BBC Springwatch the 100th pair nested on Hoy and are the first white-tailed eagles to nest in Orkney for 142 years.

You can read the full story here: www.rspb.org.uk/news/400963-whitetailed-eagle-project-celebrates-significant…

On the 18^th of February, our 2014 fledgling from Fife finally left his natal woodland! “14White A” has been roosting in and around his nest wood since he fledged in August last year. It’s rather unusual that it’s taken him so long, (7 months in fact!) however with such great habitat and food availability nearby all year, why bother?!

The bird carries a satellite transmitter which allows us to…

Last weekend I received a very welcomed sighting of a 2012 released white-tailed eagle. As there were so few birds released in 2012 – only 6 compared with around about 15-19 in previous releases (and the wing tag colour isn’t the easiest to read) I rarely receive any visual confirmation of their whereabouts from colleagues or members of the public.

However, despite having limited contact with her, one bird…

As if by clockwork, and with the first cold snap last Tuesday, Turquoise H, our 2009 released female white-tailed eagle appeared on Loch Leven! This is the 5^th year running that Turquoise H with her partner Turquoise X have arrived there for winter.

The loch has been popular with birds released in all years since the first release in 2007, with 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 birds also being seen on the loch, and even a west…