wildlife
The soaring
success of the
Sea Eagle
WORDS:RAY COLLIER IMAGES:LAURIE CAMPBELL
Beforethere-introductionofseaeaglestook
place,thelastnestingpairinBritainweretobe
foundinShetlandin1910.Themalediedthatyear,
thefemaleshotin1918.Shewasthelastnative
seaeagleinallBritainforover40years.
numberoflocations,suchastheIsleof
Mull.Detailscanbeobtainedfromthe
varioustouristofficesinearlysummer.
Unfortunately,despitethehelpof
sympatheticlocalpeople,thereisstilla
needfornestsecurity.Fourclutchesof
eggshavebeentakenbyeggcollectorsin
recentyears.Amongstthe25orsodead
birdsthathavebeenfound,atleastsixhad
beenpoisonedandothershavebeenshot.
Itisalsolikelythatafewbirdshavedied,
forwhateverreason,andmayhavejust
notbeenfound. Fact File
T
here-introductionsbeganwiththree Thesere-introducedbirdshavebeen
birdsin1959andfourmoreonFair seeninmanypartsofScotlandincluding
1:Seaeaglesareheavierandmorebulky
Isle in1968.Theseallfailedforvarious theWesternandNorthernIsles.Onebird
thanthegoldeneagle,andtheirbroad
reasons,butaprogrammeinvolvingfar wasunique,however,asonceithadleft
wingsaresoflatinoutlinethebirdshave
beendescribedas“flyingdoors.”
morebirdstookplaceontheIsleofRum thesiteatLetterewe,itwasseenat
between1975and1985with82young MunlochyBayjustnorthofInverness.
2:Eagleshavealwaysbeensurroundedby
birdsbroughtfromNorwayreleasedinto ItwasthenseeninOrkneyandShetland
mythandmystery,buttheyepitomise
thewild. beforeendingupinNorwayin1994and
strength,goodeyesightandmajesty.They
Anotherprogrammetookplaceat startedbreedingthereinthesummer wereusedonthestandardsoftheRomans
LettereweinRoss-shirebetween1993and of2001. andtheirlegions.
1998with58morebirds,againbrought Seaeaglesareamongtheearliestof
from Norway. nestingbirdsinthenorthastheystart
3:Seaeaglestakeavarietyoflivefood
Thebirdshavebeenstudiedindetail displayinginfineJanuaryweatherand
suchasgrouse,crows,seabirds,wildfowl
partlybecauseindividualshavebeen couldhavetheireggslaidbylateFebruary.
andsomemammalsfromvolestoyoung
markedinvariouswayssuchasrings, Twoeggsarenormalalthoughthreehave
foxes.Deerandsheeparesometimes
eaten,butmainlyascarrion.
wingtagsandminiatureradios.Countsin beenrecorded.Theyareincubatedafter
2004found32pairswereinterritorywith thefirsteggislaidsothatonechickis
4:Seaeagleshavebeenattractively
afewothersbeingestablished.Mosteyries largerthantheother.Ifthereisashortage
portrayedonvariousPictishstones,with
havebeenestablishedalongthewestcoast offood,onechickmaydieofstarvationor
someofthebestcomingfromOrkney.
andpublichides,orviewingplaces,with beeatenbythestrongerchick–nature’s TheyalsofeatureinearlyCelticartand
remotecamerashavingbeensetupina waysandmeansofsurvival. a73 Anglo-Saxonpoetry.
48 the north magazine
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