Gamekeepers Name Beaky Junior, the Golden Eagle Raised on Their Grouse Moor
Quick summary
Beaky Junior is the first golden eagle chick raised on a managed grouse moor in southern Scotland.
Gamekeepers on the estate named him after his mother, Beaky, one of the project's first translocated chicks.
Estates and keepers have helped by supplying chicks, building eyries, monitoring birds and recording what eagles eat.
Over 50 golden eagles now live in southern Scotland – the most for three centuries.
For the first time, a new golden eagle nest on a managed grouse moor in southern Scotland has raised a chick to flying age. The gamekeepers who work the moor have named him Beaky Junior.
The news comes from Restoring Upland Nature (RUN), the charity behind the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project. Since 2018 the project has moved young eagles from the Highlands to boost a population that had fallen to a handful of pairs.
A first for southern Scotland's grouse moors
Beaky Junior is one of four young eagles descended from translocated birds to take their first flights in southern Scotland this year. A fifth chick, Meg, fledged from the nest of an established local pair, bringing the 2026 total to five.
Both his parents were moved south by the project:
Mum, Beaky, was moved from Jahama Estate in the Highlands in 2018, as one of the project's first three chicks. During the 2020 lockdown she became the first to fly south of the Border, travelling about 90 miles to the Pennines.
Dad, Skan, whose name means "Spirit of the Sky", was translocated from the Highlands in 2019.
In 2020 the pair were the first translocated eagles seen performing aerial courtship displays.
Named by the people who look after the moor
RUN invited gamekeepers from the estate to name one of this year's chicks, in recognition of the part they have played in helping eagles thrive. The keepers belong to the Southern Uplands Moorlands Group and have chosen to stay anonymous to keep the nest's location secret.
They chose Beaky Junior to honour his mother's formidable character.
"Monitoring and providing the right habitats for golden eagles and other species to flourish is an important part of what gamekeepers do on a day-to-day basis. To encounter golden eagles daily is the ultimate indicator of the success of the project-gamekeeper partnership."
Mark Ewart, Regional Coordinator at the Southern Uplands Moorlands Group
How gamekeepers and estates are helping
Gamekeepers and estates have helped at every stage:
Providing the birds: 19 of the 28 chicks moved south since 2018 came from private estates in the Highlands and Islands, including Jahama Highland Estates, Pitmain and Glenbanchor, Ralia, Inverlael, Ardverikie and Rottal.
Building nest sites: In 2023 the Duke of Northumberland's Burncastle Estate, near the Lammermuir Hills, became the first estate to build two artificial golden eagle eyries.
Welcoming the public: Philiphaugh Estate near Selkirk hosts The Eyrie, the UK mainland's first golden eagle information point.
Watching and reporting: Keepers monitor eagles on their ground and report sick or injured birds to RUN.
Recording diet: By checking prey remains at nests and roosts, keepers help show the eagles have plenty to eat. Prey includes mountain hare, rabbit, brown hare, corvids, buzzard, goshawk, woodpecker, wood pigeon and grouse.
"Their support has been absolutely vital to our success in restoring the population of golden eagles to record numbers."
Dr Cat Barlow, Chief Executive of RUN
Golden eagles at a 300-year high
Before the project began, only two to four pairs of golden eagles remained across Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. Today:
Over 50 birds live in southern Scotland – the most for three centuries.
Around 80% of translocated eagles are still alive.
18 territories are now occupied.
More than 25 translocated birds have crossed into England at least once since 2020, some staying for up to six weeks.
Sarah-Jane Laing, Chief Executive of Scottish Land & Estates, said Beaky Junior's arrival shows "what can be achieved when land managers and conservationists unite behind a shared vision".
What this means for the uplands
Golden eagles are now breeding on a managed grouse moor in southern Scotland, and some are already flying into northern England. Beaky reached the Pennines in 2020, and another of the project's males, Talla, was seen in Northumberland in 2025. Dr Barlow said translocated eagles can breed successfully "where there are healthy ecosystems, ample food sources and the risk of interference is low".
RUN Chair Michael Clarke said the charity will keep monitoring the eagles with the help of gamekeepers, farmers and land managers.
