Golden eagles have bred in the Scottish Highlands for the first time in 40 years

The event was described as a "rewilding success story beyond our wildest dreams"
A golden eagle
PA
Charlie Duffield13 August 2020

Golden eagles have successfully bred at a 10,000 acre "rewilding" estate in the Scottish Highlands for the first time in 40 years.

An eagle pair reared the chick at an artificial eyrie on the Dundreggan estate, although at the same time, a young tagged gold eagle called Tom has gone missing in the Strathbraan area of Perthshire.

The bird was being satellite-tracked by wildlife charity Raptor Persecution UK, who have been working with Springwatch presenter Chris Packham on a tagging project.

Nevertheless, at the Dundreggan estate, manager Doug Gilbert described the event as a "rewilding success story beyond our wildest dreams".

The Scottish Highlands
PA

Speaking to the the BBC, he said: "I feel elated. Absolutely amazing. To have done a little bit of management, and to have a wild bird decide it's a good place to be, and produce a chick, then it's wonderful."

Mr Gilbert said the "rewilding" approach adopted at Dundreggan had helped, with an artificial nest built five years ago on the remains of a former nest site high up on a rocky cragg.

The nest was made from native pines and birch trees that cover the mountain slopes, and was built in the hope that a pair of golden eagles would mate, with Mr Gilbert checking the eyrie every spring for the last five years.

Formerly, the estate was used for deer stalking, but populations have been reduced so trees can grow again, with "golden eagle-friendly" mountaintop forests replanted featuring waist-high, tough, "wee trees", such as dwarf birch and downy willow.

There has also been a recorded increase in black grouse, which is an important food source for golden eagles.

However Mr Gilbert cautioned: "I do worry for the safety of the chick. They are renowned for wandering quite far distances.

"There are several black spots where eagles regularly disappear. Some of them are well within range of a young golden eagle - just 50 km away, and chicks can travel for 100-150km."

He added: "What we are doing here won't change the course of history. But if we can produce one chick, rather than one being killed somewhere else, then it's a good thing."

Meanwhile, approximately 120 miles south, in the Strathbraan area of the Perthshire uplands, a young tagged golden eagle known as Tom has gone missing.

The young bird hatched in Argyll in May 2019, and a total of four of the eagles tagged by Raptor Persecution UK (RPUK) in 2017 have since disappeared.

It's unclear what has happened to the bird; some claim its tag may have just stopped worked, and there are also several grouse shooting estates in the area.

According to the RSPB, Tom is the sixth golden eagle to have disappeared in the region since 2014.

Raptor Persuction UK wrote on their website: "Tom survived for a year, travelling to explore the west, out as far as the Isle of Mull, before making a fateful journey east towards the grouse moors in the spring of this year."

Chris Packham shared a video on Twitter highlighting Tom's disappearance, and wrote: "So you tell me. What do you think happened to Tom the young golden eagle, that morning in Strathbraan?"

He said: "We have no proof as to what happened, apart from that the tag, which had a full battery, and was transmitting consistently, failed catastrophically."

Police Scotland confirmed they have carried out enquiries regarding the missing golden eagle. They said no criminality had so far been established, but are appealing for information.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in