East Scotland Sea Eagles

Tracking at 11000 ft!

2013-04-22T15:52:32Z

Tracking the east coast sea eagles can be challenging at the best of times. Despite the equipment that we have able to detect a transmitter from up to 50km away, the “undulating” Scottish landscape provides topographical barriers that prevent signals from being detected....unless you’re above it!!

This cunning method of tracking the birds has been used before, and is extremely useful in covering large areas to look for the birds that’s not always achievable on the ground.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do this for the first time on Saturday, using a motorised glider to soar high above parts of the Cairngorms to scan for the birds. Being in a glider meant that every so often, we were able to turn off the engine and listen out carefully for any beeps from below.

The weather conditions were ideal and we had good visibility. The rising thermals meant that we able to get a lift as high as we wanted (within reason and not having oxygen on board!!). We clocked almost 11000ft at one point. Not many signals can be hidden from here!

We picked up a good signal for one of the birds released last summer – Grey X. She’s travelled a long way since her release, but this is normal for young sea eagles who are very nomadic. This explains why I and my hard working volunteers haven’t detected any of the juveniles in Fife recently!

Closer to home there are still a good few eagles in the area. The two 2009 birds – Turquoise 1 and Z are still being tracked and seen regularly around Tentsmuir, and we have recently picked up signals for another two 2009 birds which have returned to the area - Turquoise H and X. A 2010 male - Yellow O has also been roosting near Abernethy.

Sadly, a few of weeks ago, 2011 male Red 2 collided with a train near Auchtermuchty. Up until now, we have only known of juvenile birds to collide with trains on the east of Scotland, so it’s unusual for this to happen to a bird coming into his third year. However, this is a common cause of death for young sea eagles in Norway and Sweden where their population is much bigger.

The extended winter and snow cover we’ve been experiencing has meant that it has been quite difficult getting up into some high ground to radio track much further north. Hopefully now that spring has arrived, my attempts will be more successful!

This amazing photograph of a 2009 female (almost certainly Turquoise H) was taken at Loch Leven by Roy Balfour. She's looking very grown up!

A rare visitor

2013-01-21T10:51:00Z

On Boxing day, birders in Unst in Shetland reported seeing an immature white-tailed sea eagle with two colour rings. The rings looked very different from those used on the west coast of Scotland and certainly looked different from the single silver ring fitted to the east coast sea eagles. Colour rings were only used on the east coast in 2008 when licensing restrictions meant we couldn’t use wing tags to identify the birds.

Thanks to some great photography by Robbie Brooks and after photos and emails were exchanged throughout Scotland, Norway and Sweden, it was concluded that this bird had come from Norway! There have been very few Norwegian white-tailed eagles recorded in Scotland so this was definitely a notable event!

Unst in Shetland is where the last surviving white-tailed eagle in the UK (an albino female) was shot in 1918.

Here is a link to an eye witness account by Brydon Thomason;

http://www.shetlandnature.net/2013/01/11/an-eagle-in-the-isles-a-norwegian-white-tailed-eagle-in-shetland/

Christmas update

2012-12-22T17:50:43Z

2012 has been another interesting year for the project. We were lucky to have more funding from HLF and LEADER for this year’s translocation to go ahead and to fund two fantastic new posts on the project-Meriem Kayoueche Reeve as “SEEVIEWS Community Engagement Officer” and Heather Richards as “Sea Eagle Project Assistant”. They both worked incredibly hard and contributed enormously to the project. Meriem’s work made new connections in the local community and engaged the tourism industry in preparation for when white tailed eagles establish here on the east coast of Scotland and become a potential tourist draw. Just imagine a situation in Fife/Tayside like that on Mull and Skye with Mull’s eagle hide receiving a 5* tourist attraction certification! Something to aspire to!

Despite a poor breeding season in Norway with only six young eagles being collected, they all did well during their time in the aviaries in Fife and all “fledged” with great success in the presence of our hard working volunteers, major funders, and of course the media!

Three birds frequented the food dump left for them on the roof of the aviaries and we got some great photos of the interaction between them. Grey “H” made a rapid escape down to Inchkeith Island where he has been spending time since and being spotted near Kinghorn loch in south Fife. Grey “T” ventured north towards Stonehaven whilst “A” and “X” remained in the release wood until recently. One of them moved to Rossie bog this week and another one has been spotted near Auchtermuchty!

Sadly as happens every year, not every bird survives and loosing one or two individuals is “normal”. However, as there were so few birds released this year, loosing two birds hit pretty hard. Within days of release, Grey “O” was electrocuted under power lines; a common cause of death amongst all cohorts released on the east coast and also in Norway. On the day I decided to take a few days off and visit family in Wales, Grey “R” was found dead on the shore on the south Fife coast...I should have known not to venture too far! Unfortunately the cause of death remains unknown but not suspicious.

With winter here now, as we all hoped, some special visitors arrived at RSPB Loch Leven. Turquoise “H” – a 2009 female was the first to appear. This is her third winter in a row at Loch Leven. This year instead of her usual partner in crime (Turquoise “X” who is currently on Loch Etive!!) she was joined this winter by Yellow “O” a 2010 male, and Red “E” a 2011 male! All of them have been seen moving between Reed Bower Island and Castle Island, and rumour has it that Douggie in the cafe has been making some “eagle buns” to celebrate!

Two (and at one point, three!) turquoise tagged birds (2009) are being seen regularly around Tentsmuir point and the Eden estuary. So there are plenty of places to go and enjoy east Scotland sea eagles over the Christmas holidays!

Happy Christmas!

"Irish Brian" found dead in County Kerry

2012-12-10T13:01:00Z

We recently received some very sad news regarding an Irish released white-tailed eagle that became a bit of a celebrity during his visit to east Scotland last year (see here).

Male tag “3”, affectionately nicknamed “Irish Brian” by his Scottish followers was released in County Kerry in August 2010 and spent is first winter in Kerry and along the coast of west Cork.

He then appeared on the Banffshire coast in October 2011 when a sea kayaker reported seeing an injured white-tailed eagle stranded in a cove. After rescue and a long rehabilitation by SSPCA (see here) he was successfully released from the east Scotland release site in Fife much to the delight of his Scottish fans and project staff!

(Karen Hartnell's artist interpretation of "Irish Brian's" visit.)

He then made his way to Drumpellier country park in Lanarkshire in February this year (see here) where he was photographed by rangers and seen by members of the public. Then suddenly, after disappearing off the radar for a while, project staff in Ireland were delighted to discover that he had made the journey all the way back to Ireland when his signal was detected in west Kerry in September!

Sadly, two months later in November, a mortality signal was detected from his transmitter, and male “3” was found dead on a hillside near Glencar in County Kerry. Unfortunately, the carcase was too decomposed to obtain adequate samples, and therefore the cause of his death will remain unknown. Three Irish released white-tailed eagles were found poisoned in this area in spring 2008 alone. Most poisoning incidents to date in Ireland have been during the lambing season (Feb-May) when poisons have been laid illegally for foxes and crows.

One hundred WTSEs have been released into the wild in Killarney Nat Park, Co. Kerry between 2007-2011, in an effort to re-establish the species in Ireland since its extinction in the early 20^th century. In 2012 the project was boosted by the first nesting in the wild in over 100 years when a pair nested in Co. Clare. The Irish White-tailed Sea Eagle Reintroduction project is a collaboration between the Golden Eagle Trust and the National Parks & Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht. Visit the project website at www.goldeneagle.ie

It's that time of year again at Loch Leven

2012-12-07T13:08:30Z

Finally, as predicted by many, the snow has arrived and so have the white-tailed eagles on Loch Leven!! And not surprisingly, it’s the usual suspects that have turned up. Turquoise “H” (wing tag), a 2009 female appeared on Reed Bower Island on the 4^th of December, soon to be followed by another bird yesterday.

Thanks to Karen Hartnell for reporting the sighting and for being quick with her camera to take some superb pictures!

We have yet to confirm the identity of the second bird, but we suspect it might be Turquoise “X”- a male who usually accompanies Turquoise "H" to Loch Leven at this time of year.

Loch Leven is an amazing place to watch the birds as there are telescopes set to look out over the loch from the cafe...which also has amazing food, coffee and cake!!

A big thank you from the Minister for the Environment

2012-11-30T16:25:10Z

Last week, Scottish Natural Heritage hosted their Species Action Framework conference in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh to celebrate the end of their five year programme of species work that they have supported. The East Scotland Sea Eagle project was funded through the Species Action Framework, and a presentation was given at the conference outlining the work that has been done and about the future of the project.

During a reception on Thursday evening, Alv Ottar Folkestad of the Norwegian Ornithological Society was awarded for his outstanding contribution to the East Scotland Sea Eagle project. Alv Ottar has been involved in sea eagle work in Norway for 40 years and has been coordinating the collection of Norwegian sea eagle chicks for the east coast release and has been instrumental to the success of the project. Paul Wheelhouse, the Minister for Environment and Climate Change presented Alv Ottar with the award.

Congratulations Alv Ottar!

Return to the Emerald Isle

2012-09-26T15:07:00Z

We received some great news last week that the white-tailed eagle that was rescued from the north Aberdeenshire coast almost a year ago has returned to Ireland! See previous blog here.

The 2010 bird with the wing tags white/blue “3” was detected through radio tracking back in county Kerry after being released from Fife in December 2011. He had only been seen on one occasion since by staff at Drumpelier country park before vanishing from our radio tracking “radar”. See this blog.

After such a traumatic experience and having spending a month being washed and rehabilitated, we were delighted to see him take to the skies again, and now having made his way all the way back to Ireland! Thanks again to SSPCA for all of their hard work.

Food Fight!

2012-09-10T12:10:44Z

When X came to visit the food dump....

Food Dump Dramas

2012-09-07T15:43:00Z

The 2012 cohort of east coast white-tailed eagles have been in the wild for over two weeks already! Since their release, we have been maintaining a food dump at the release site to help them get started.

In the wild, when the young birds fledge, the adults will regularly provision them with the odd fish or piece of carrion here and there until they can confidently hunt independently. As there are no adult birds in the area to help the young east coast fledglings during their first few weeks in the wild, we do our best by leaving food out for them in the woods that they “fledged” from.

It took the young birds almost a week to discover the food dump and to start using it. The first bird to arrive was Gray A-a young male that was released on the first day of releases on the 20^th of August. He struggled to land on it the first time round as it was a very windy day, but now that he is a more competent flyer, he is having no trouble getting stuck in!

Gray T, a female who shared an aviary with Gray A joined him the following day, and eventually Gray X- another young female released on the 24th.

We have been fortunate enough to have the use of a motion-sensing camera on the food dump that can take photographs when there is a bird at the food dump. This has provided us with extremely useful and interesting information about which birds are coming in to use it and when....and also some of the behavioural quirks that are being displayed here!

This has proved quite fascinating, and a clear “pecking order” seems to have been established with Gray T the more dominant individual!

She seems to be tolerating Gray A more than Gray X, and we have been getting regular footage of some squabbling between T and X!

There has been no sign of Red E (the 2011 male that has been seen in the woods) using the food dump yet, or Gray H and R. Maybe they're tired of venison!

They're all out!

2012-08-23T20:51:29Z

Today, the last white tailed eagles to be released as part of the east Scotland reintroduction took to the skies!

The sunny weather and light windy conditions were perfect for the young birds to take their first flight, and they all did incredibly well. Anyone would think they’d done it before!

The last release today was covered by BBC and STV after Tuesday’s planned release was cancelled due to heavy rain and thunderstorms! It was featured on STV’s news at 6pm and BBC reporting Scotland at 6:30pm this evening.

The fledglings are not alone in the woods at the moment. Yesterday, Red E from the 2011 release cohort returned to the release wood and was seen perched with Grey A that was released on Monday. Hopefully Red E will show the new arrivals a thing or two!

This great picture of "Gray T"was taken by Mike McDonnell of Argaty Red Kites (www.argatyredkites.co.uk)

Bon Voyage!

2012-08-21T07:05:53Z

Yesterday saw the first release of the final cohort of white-tailed eagles to be released on the east coast of Scotland!

Volunteers that have been involved in all aspect of the project from radio tracking and data entry to event volunteers came along to see Grey “A” and “T” take to the skies for the first time.

“A” was the first bird collected from Norway this year, and “T” is the largest female. “T” was also the bird that had to be treated for a respiratory infection during her first week in captivity. She has since recovered remarkably well and showed no signs of ever being ill today!

Both birds didn’t waste any time in attempting their first flights! Neither of them sat around at the release hatch, and they both made a quick bolt for freedom! “A” even took a big run up! Despite being a little bit wobbly for the first few flaps , they quickly caught the brisk south easterly that was blowing. This carried them round to the safety of a plantation forest nearby where they perched as they got used to their new surroundings!

It was such a great feeling to see them do so well in their first flight, and to finally see them in more natural surroundings!

Today, Grey “O” and “H” will be released in front of BBC and STV reporters.

Let’s hope they do just as well as “A” and “T”!!

Pictures to follow......

Eagle Extravaganza!

2012-08-13T18:55:00Z

Join RSPB Scotland at Jamesfield Organic Centre, Abernethy on Sunday 19^th August 2012

Spend the day with RSPB Scotland and learn about the UK’s largest bird of prey, the white-tailed sea eagle. This is a great opportunity to find out more about these magnificent birds and why RSPB Scotland is re-introducing this native bird to the east coast of Scotland.

Event name: Eagle Extravaganza!

Date: Sun 19^th Aug

Time: 10am – 2pm

Location: Jamesfield Organic Centre, off the A913 between Abernethy & Newburgh, KY14 6EW

Cost: Free

Type of activity: hands on, family, education

Event description:

White-tailed Sea Eagles have returned to the east coast of Scotland.

Join us and learn about the UK’s largest bird of prey; this is your opportunity find out more about these magnificent birds.

Come and join in the FREE fun and games;

· learn how to radio track White-tailed Sea Eagles

· treasure hunt

· help us build a full size White-tailed Sea Eagle nest

· take home craft activities

Throughout the day, there will be a RSPB member of staff on hand to answer any questions about the re-introduction of White-tailed Sea Eagles to the east coast of Scotland.

Wing Tagging!

2012-08-11T11:10:12Z

Yesterday, the six young white-tailed eagles to be released over the next couple of weeks were fitted with their wing tags and VHF transmitters.

The wing tag colour that we’re using this year is grey with yellow letters. We had to make sure that the tags wouldn’t get confused with the ones used in previous years. I think this will work pretty well, and the yellow letters really stand out! The letters we have chosen to use are A, H, O, R, T, X.

Each bird also has its own VHF frequency so that we can follow their dispersal once they’re released.

We also had a vet present to take a second lot of samples from the birds since their arrival for health screening. We also took measurements to monitor growth rate. Some of the birds have gained almost 3kg since they’ve arrived!

The young female that was taken ill during the first week in captivity is much better and looking fantastic. She is the biggest bird that we have this year!

A big thank you to the team that were there to help yesterday!!

Unexpected Results

2012-08-05T23:56:37Z

At the end of last week, we finally received the results of the blood tests that would inform us of the sex of the chicks!

On arrival, the chicks were all weighed and measured and their sex was estimated from these measurements. The females having all round larger dimensions than the males, being heavier and the larger of the two sexes as is the case with all birds of prey. In adult white-tailed eagles, females weigh an average of 6-7kg and males 4.5-5.5kg

On June 22^nd, it was assumed that we had an even sex ratio in the 2012 cohort-3 females and 3 males, and we put a male and a female in each aviary….HOWEVER, our estimations proved to be wrong! It turns out that we actually have 4 females and 2 males!! The bird thought to be a male was actually a small and very light female!

As the birds have grown over the past few weeks, Heather and I had suspected that the birds in aviary 2 were of the same sex as there was no significant difference in their size like there is in the other aviaries. The interaction between them is also different to that between the other pairs.

Since the project started in2007, we have ended up with more males than females surviving, so we are pleased with what these results have shown. We have a bit more of a balance now!!

A male and female chick in the aviaries...can you guess which is which?

An update from the aviaries (by Heather Richards)

2012-07-23T17:12:41Z

The six white-tailed eagle chicks have been settling well into their new home in Fife. On arrival, the chicks were given a health check by the vet and blood and faecal samples were taken. The blood samples will be used to confirm the sex of the individuals as well as to screen for disease. Although, we are still waiting confirmation from the blood samples, we have estimated that we have three males and three females!!

At the aviaries, the chicks were sorted according to size and housed in three pairs-this is to make sure that the bigger ones don’t out-compete the little ones. The two youngest chicks were put in an aviary together and the two oldest in another. The third pair appeared to be a bit of a mismatch in size but fortunately, the smallest chick definitely stood up for himself, and it very quickly became impossible to tell the difference without reading their ring numbers!

As it’s worked out, we have a male and female in each aviary. The chicks weighed between 3 and 4.5kg on arrival. We made sure all the chicks ate some fresh fish before letting them get used to their new surroundings.

Vet Alistair Lawrie checking the chick on arrival (photo by heather Richards)

Since arriving one of the older chicks was found to be suffering for a respiratory fungal infection and spent a few days at the vets being treated. This may have been something she picked up in the nest. She is now back at the aviaries with the other chicks and seems to have made a good recovery. Despite being ill, she still managed to gain 1.2kg in weight during her first week in captivity! All of the birds are eating well (about a kilo of food per day!) and enjoying a fine Scottish diet of fish (supplied by M&M Spinks and Fish in Crieff), venison (supplied by Highland Game) and grey squirrel (from the Aberdeenshire grey squirrel cull). The chicks are growing up fast and are now using their talons to tear up their food. A couple of the chicks are already starting to test their wings, jumping up and down on the platform whilst flapping their wings with great enthusiasm! It won’t be long until they’re ready to go....

The new home (photo by Heather Richards)