15th December 2017
The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, which aims to boost the numbers in southern Scotland, has taken another significant step forward with the announcement that the project team will be collecting eagle chicks from the Highlands and Islands and releasing them as satellite-tagged juveniles.
The project team is now seeking new team members to work with local schools, communities, landowners and gamekeepers in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders to help raise awareness, engage and enthuse local people about golden eagles and their conservation needs.
The Moorland Association wishes this innovative project every success and we look forward to engaging with it to prepare for any birds that eventually fly south over the border.
For more details on the project please visit: www.goldeneaglessouthofscotland.co.uk
Grouse estates praised
The news from the South of Scotland project emerged as a hugely encouraging report was issued by the Highland Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime’s North Monadhliaths sub group.
Reports from the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the Highland Raptor Study Group show that the overall population of Golden Eagles in the area has increased and positive sightings of goshawks, buzzards, ospreys and red kites have also been recorded by Forest Enterprise Scotland.
The RSPB said in recent years a recovery on some grouse moors has taken place with territories becoming established for often the first time in decades and birds rearing good numbers of eaglets.
This has helped boost the local population to what is believed to be their highest numbers in well over a century.
There’s more work to be done but constructive collaboration is clearly delivering results in Scotland.
