A great gathering today with over 60 people arriving at the hide in almost unbroken sunshine. If you were there, thank you for coming and I hope you enjoyed yourselves. The setting is wonderful - from the hide looking north over the calm, tranquil waters of Loch Frisa. A fisherman on the shore hoping for a bite from the wild brown trout; on the far hillside, cattle and sheep mingle and graze whilst nearer the hide, the local Jacob, Hebridean, Shetland and badger-faced sheep were being gathered to inspect this year's well grown lambs. Earlier the sea eagle chicks had appeared briefly, still enjoying our amazing spell of dry eather. On her usual mound sat Frisa - the Matriarch.
Frisa is 16 years old this year - middle aged perhaps for a sea eagle but absolutely in her prime. She's been with her mate Skye for 11 years and this is their 10th anniversary at Loch Frisa. They nested together first in 1997 - sadly their first chick died and a year later they moved to their new home, Loch Frisa. They've never looked back and have become one of the most successful and productive pairs of sea eagles in Scotland. What I love about Frisa is her amazing pedigree. She was hatched in 1992 on Mull. Her parents were the original adults which hatched the first wild bred sea eagle chick in the UK for 70 years following the reintroduction project. That was way back in 1985, on Mull and I was lucky enough to be one of the young, keen, inexperienced RSPB wardens to witness that historic event. We called Frisa's mum, Blondie, for obvious reasons - she had developed that wonderful, pale blonde plumage on her head and upper body that adult sea eagles gain in later life. She was a very special bird and I miss her still. She vanished in 2000 aged about 21 and, with her mate, is responsible for many of the sea eagles alive in Scotland today. Frisa was one of twins; her brother lived less than a year and when he was found, he had lead shot in him. Unbelievable that anyone could do such a thing, but sadly it still goes on in the UK - even today. That's why having Frisa with us still is so special. She roamed far and wide in her five years of maturing but eventually came home to Mull where she paired up with Skye and the rest is history. Frisa is now a grandmother with chicks she and Skye have raised, now fledging chicks themselves elsewhere in Scotland. She raised the famous Springwatch twins Itchy & Scratchy (named by children from Dervaig Primary School and who are still going strong), followed in 2006 by Haggis and Oatie (named by children from Lochdon Primary School). In 2007, they lost their chicks just as they'd hatched when their nest slipped and the tiny chicks fell to their deaths(see the archived Blog from May 2007 'White tail, black day'). But now Frisa and Skye are back on form with this year's offspring. Frisa is a very special bird for so many reasons - her links to the past, her successful raising of so many chicks and her tolerance of all of us watching her every move. For me, she reminds me of her mum Blondie, that first chick in 1985 and all that's followed since. She's part of how it all began and there she was today on her favourite mound in the sun, looking as magnificent as ever. Frisa - we salute you!
Tomorrow: Skye - a mate for life
Dave Sexton RSPB Scotland Mull Officer