The Future
Thanks to the phased reintroduction programme, sea eagles are once again breeding in Scotland. However, the current population is small and still vulnerable. Sea eagles are slow to mature and pairs often make several breeding attempts before successfully rearing chicks.
The RSPB are heavily involved in monitoring the population while research is being carried out to increase our understanding of the sea eagle’s breeding biology and habitat requirements in Scotland, and any impact they may have upon lambs. Although illegal poisoning still occurs, attitudes have changed markedly and the eagles have become quite a tourist attraction. A small public viewing hide is being operated on Mull by the islanders, in partnership with SNH, RSPB and the Forestry Commission, while CCTV cameras are operating at another nest in Skye, and can be viewed at the Aros Centre, near Portree.
We cannot expect all of the released birds or wild bred young to survive and some 10% or so have thus far been found dead, mostly inexperienced juveniles. Sadly a few had been poisoned, including two breeding adults. Together this pair had already fledged three young and in 2003 they left behind two little orphans. Attempts were made to foster the tiny chicks into other sea eagle nests and eventually one was to fledge successfully with its new parents. The poisoned territory has yet to be re-occupied.
But survival is encouragingly high, and at least as good as the healthy
Norwegian population, so were are confident that the Scottish sea eagles
are estabishing a self-sustaining population in the wild. It remains however
for them to be able to spread to the east coast, north to Orkney and Shetland
and south into England, Wales and Ireland. But even today few can deny that
white-tailed sea eagles have made a welcome and dramatic return to its old
haunts in the West of Scotland.