Eagle eyes

Day One at the Loch Frisa Eagle Hide: and so it begins...

Some 30 excited visitors joined Debby, Sue and myself for a day to remember as the Isle of Mull's famous Eagle Hide opened its doors for business. The sky was bright but a chilly wind blew from the south east. After a brief stop at the Mull Eagle Watch volunteer's lookout post to get our bearings, we descended to the luxury 'hide' and out of the cold. From there, all eyes scanned the distant horizons for any sign of an eagle. Nothing stirred. The occasional passing buzzard, raven and even a crow set pulses racing for a second or two. The early chatter subsided as we all realised that we might be in for a long wait. This was wild nature after all. Nothing was predictable. As PC Finlay Christine, our 'Wildlife Crime Enforcer of the Year' once said to an impatient visitor who was expecting the eagles to perform on cue, like feeding time at the zoo: "This isn't Disney World you know!"

At last, there on a distant ridge, a powerful telescope picked up the unmistakable form of a hunched, perched white-tailed eagle. Even at that range we could all pick up the paleness on the head and yellow beak. All of a sudden, another eagle appeared above it, this time an immature golden eagle. Everyone in the hide was on to it now and could see what we were all getting excited about. Then the young goldie was joined by a second - another immature with the trade-mark white 'Spitfire' wing patches and white tails. Together they chased and circled each other before drifting ever closer to our eager eyes. Before we knew it, both birds were directly over Frisa and Skye's nest and just a short distance from where we sat spellbound - although many were now on their feet. Within a few minutes, the quiet patient hide had become a buzzing, anxious and excited place. Everyone was getting good, long, quality views of the golden eagles - not necessarily the species they'd come to see but utterly engrossing all the same. Then as we watched, the 'off-duty' male sea eagle Skye came steaming in across the loch and straight towards the young goldies. He was very much 'on-duty'! Skye gave chase. They were just too close for comfort. Normally the two species avoid each other and certainly avoid any conflict as the chances are that if they clash, someone is going to get seriously hurt. The two goldies were not to be easily dispersed and their curiosity of the sea eagles domain kept bringing them back for more. At times, we didn't know which way to look with three eagles, two ravens, a buzzard and two hooded crows zigg-zagging across the tree tops. It was a confusing, exhilerating and compelling drama but the finale was yet to play out. As the two golden eagles finally got the message and drifted a little way off and Skye circled low over his nest wood, all the activity had attracted the attention of the neighbouring adult golden eagles. The highly territorial male plunged like a flaming golden canonball into the theatre of war and successfully dispersed just about everyone in a matter of seconds. But Skye was not having it. This was his patch. Just metres away sat his loyal mate Frisa on her eggs. Amazingly she sat tight even with all this frenzied activity going on all around her. The urge to come off to help defend the nest area must have been huge but the need to stay put on the eggs was even stronger. Whilst we were all excited to see this encounter, I was terrified she would launch off the nest in a panic and this is when fragile eggs can get broken or kicked out. But she clearly had great faith in Skye's abilities to take care of things. He banked steeply and dived down towards the adult goldie and both vanished from view behind the forest. The two youngsters who'd started the whole event were now high in the sky and keeping their distance. This was no place for amateurs. We waited and watched. Who would emerge victorious? Minutes later after we'd all held our collective breath, Skye sailed out over the tree tops, unscathed circled once then dropped down on to the nest for a change-over as if nothing had happened. The adult golden eagle emerged too and flew fast back towards their nest area. The score had been settled, thankfully with no injury to either bird.

As the first hide visit of the season began to disperse, we couldn't promise every day would be like this but it was a memorable start to the season. And it was a good moment to ask everyone to sign the visitor's book and to tell us what they thought of their visit! This one would be hard to beat. But we do like a challenge...

Dave Sexton RSPB Scotland Mull Officer

Come and visit the Mull sea eagles yourself. See the link on the blog page, visit the 'Date with Nature' pages on this web site or call 01688 302 038 to book. We look forward to seeing you.