White-tailed eagle reintroduction in Scotland, 1975 onwards - Sightings data

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Description

The white-tailed eagle (<i>Haliaeetus albicilla</i>) is a resident breeding bird in Scotland and the largest bird of prey in the UK. It is listed in the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK because of its long-term population decline and since it is a rare breeder in the UK and across its European range. <br>

Sightings have been collated from the Scottish white-tailed eagle recovery project, begun in 1975 on Rum. A second reintroduction took place between 1993 and 1998 in Wester Ross. <br>

These reintroduction projects were carried out in collaboration with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), also benefiting from expertise from the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), the Join Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and the National Trust for Scotland (NTS). In Scotland, we gratefully acknowledge support over the years of, among others, Forestry Commission Scotland, Strathclyde Police and Northern Constabulary, as well as landowners, crofters, farmers, fishermen, wildlife tour operators, volunteers and others in rural communities in the west of Scotland. <br>

East Scotland Sea Eagles, a partnership between RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland, is the third phase of a successful reintroduction programme. Data from this 2007 reintroduction will be added in a future update.<br>

All records containing references to nests and roost sites have been marked as sensitive and are not available for viewing by the public.

Geographic Description

Monitoring was conducted primarily in western Scotland. There were a few sightings reported from Ireland. Additional data for the east Scotland project will be added in a future update.

Data quality

All geographic data have been checked for accuracy.

Especially sensitive records (those that indicate release, nest or roost sites) have been marked as such and are not available to the public.

Methods

Regular direct observations and site visits were made throughout the year by Sea Eagle Surveyors.

Citation

Please acknowledge the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in any use of the data.

Rights

CC-BY

Digitised records