Itchy and Scratchy - legends in their own lifetime

I know many of you are thinking of the loss of Deshar tonight, as are we all, but as has been said, it's also time to think of the many positive things that have come out of this summer. It's time to concentrate our thoughts on Nethy, Mara and Breagha and to realise what an amazing, dangerous, wonderful and beautiful natural world we have around us. We are all focussing in on a tiny handful of very special birds - but there are millions more battling away out there for survival and with all our help in the RSPB, there is hope.

Itchy and Scratchy were the two famous sea eagle chicks hatched by Frisa and Skye during the BBC Springwatch broadcasts. What a year that was for all of us - and them! Simon King and crew followed their every move but what happened to them after the cameras had stopped rolling and they'd all packed up and gone home? Tonight, we'll catch up with Scratchy and remember that with all the sadness around about Deshar, there is good news out there too about our other favourite chicks. I hope this brief tale brings a little comfort and joy to those feeling at a loss tonight.

We had seen Scratchy on and off throughout his first year, sometimes on Mull and with occasional reports from further afield in Inverness-shire and on the Isle of Skye - home of his father. But by now, he would be three years old - an adolescent if you're a young sea eagle and a very interesting age. We've even had some young birds pairing up by that age, even though they're usually not old enough to breed successfully until they are four or five years old. But then the reports went quiet. I had not had a reliable report of him for over a year. After all we'd been through together, I couldn't help but worry. And he was such a media star that there were regular enquiries about his welfare. With no satellite tag, we couldn't know where he was or even if he was still alive. Unless someone read those cherry red wing tags and saw his initial, the letter 'S', we might never know.

For Springwatch this year, we wanted to make a special effort to find him and his brother. They wouldn't be travelling together now and both had been missing and unaccounted for for way too long. I decided to go public and expand the search with articles and posters in the local press along the lines of 'Have you seen this bird?'

One morning before heading off into the hills, I checked in at the office and checked my messages. There was one that stopped me in my tracks: "Oh hi - umm, we read the article in the Oban Times about your missing birds and think..." The answerphone tape went dead. Aaaaggghhhh!  No 'phone number, no news, was it good or bad? Who was it about? Just by chance I thought I'd check the last number dialled - 1471. It was a strange number, not from Mull. I pressed 3 and it rang...and rang...and rang. Then a lady answered in soft west Highland tones. In the background, children were playing, a dog was yapping and I think the radio was on. In the general confusion, I introduced myself and managed to explain what it was all about. Finally, after a few doors were closed and the radio switched off, she began to recount her story.

Every evening, her Border collie sheep dog had appeared at the back door of their farmhouse after being out for a wander. It started appearing with smelly old fish bones which it deposited with pride on the door step. Night after night she did this, much to the annoyance of her owners. One morning, enough was enough. The lady from Roybridge in Inverness-shire decided she would follow her dog away into the woods. As she remained some distance behind, the dog lead her through the trees and down to the river. She watched her crunching on bones beneath the trees on the river bank and decided to creep closer. Finally she caught right up to her and saw she was feasting on stinking old rotten salmon heads and bones. "What on earth are you doing?" she said out loud. With that, the collie tilted her head and looked upwards into the trees. The lady followed her gaze and nearly fainted with shock. There just a few feet above her head was an immature sea eagle. It had clearly fed on fish from the river which had spawned and were dying in the shallows. Then it had carried them up into the trees, feasted on the catch and dropped the bits and bones, one by one, for the very contented collie down below to find and devour. The young eagle seemed quite unconcerned by all this attention and as it turned to look, the lady noticed the cherry red wing tags and amazingly, the letter 'S'. It was Scratchy! No doubt about it. Alive and well and eating like a king in the Highlands. The lady was delighted, her dog was even more so and Scratchy was now a healthy young male sea eagle with his whole life ahead of him. Good luck Scratchy - we hope we'll see you again before too long.

Tomorrow: But what of little brother Itchy?

Deshar - RIP

Dave Sexton RSPB Scotland Mull Officer

2205hrs.