Scotland's white-tailed eagles hit double century

After 21 years of tireless work by conservation groups, volunteers, the
police, local communities and landowners, the 200th wild-bred white-tailed
eagle chick has fledged on the Isle of Skye.

The chick, one of a brood of three - the first ever record of triplets on
Skye - took flight under the gaze of wildlife CCTV cameras at the RSPB
Scotland viewing area at the Aros Centre near Portree.

The successful hatching of the three chicks brought scenes of great
excitement to the Aros Centre, but the joy of seeing the 200th Scottish
white-tailed eagle chick fledge was tinged with sadness as the youngest of
the brood had become a casualty of the summer storms leading up to
mid-summer's day.

White-tailed eagles settled on Mull and Skye soon after their initial
reintroduction to Rum in 1975, with Skye's first pair attempting to breed in
1987. The island is now home to a quarter of Scotland's white-tailed eagle
population and is one of the best places in Scotland to see the birds in
their natural habitat.

The chick, one of a brood of three - the first ever record of triplets on
Skye - took flight under the gaze of wildlife CCTV cameras at the Aros
Centre near Portree.

Alison Maclennan, RSPB Scotland's Skye Officer said, 'This is a terrific
milestone for us to reach after so many years of hard work, and especially
exciting to mark it with the first ever sea eagle triplets to hatch on the
Isle of Skye.

'Perhaps what is most impressive is that it took us 25 years from the first
introduced birds to see a hundred wild-fledged sea eagles - and just the
last six years for that figure to double.'

Bringing birds closer

In recent years, the nest-cameras at the RSPB Scotland viewing room in the
Aros Centre and the RSPB/Forestry Commission Scotland live viewing hide on
Mull have given thousands of visitors a chance to experience one of Europe's
most impressive wildlife spectacles - with Scotland's First Minister
recently branding the eagles 'a fantastic asset' after seeing them for the
first time.

Emily Miscioscia, Public Affairs Manager for RSPB Scotland added, 'Our
viewing projects bring some amazing birds closer to people across the UK -
but none have been as popular as white-tailed eagle viewing on the west
coast, with many trips to see the eagles fully-booked days in advance.

'Our partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland at Loch Frisa continues
to provide an unrivalled opportunity in Britain and perhaps Europe to see a
real-life conservation success story in action.'

Much of the work to bring white-tailed eagles closer to the public has been
supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund via the Nadair Trust, an Argyll-wide
project promoting wildlife and environmental education. The Aros Centre
viewing project has also been supported by the Biodiversity Action Grants
Scheme.

The Aros Centre white-tailed eagle viewing room will remain open until
October, where visitors can see footage from the summer and hear the full
story of the eagles.

A report on the success of breeding sea eagles across Scotland in 2006 is
expected at the end of the summer, with early indications suggesting that
this may be the best year yet for fledging white-tailed eagles.

Source: RSPB Scotland
27 July 2006