AN ACCLAIMED wildlife cameraman and television presenter has called for the golden eagle to be adopted as Scotland's national bird.
Gordon Buchanan, originally from Mull, who was on TV screens recently featuring wildlife in Burma and the Arctic Circle, will today urge MSPs to use the golden eagle as a new national symbol, placing it alongside the lion rampant, the Saltire and the thistle as emblems of the country.
Mr Buchanan, who is due to appear before Holyrood's Petitions Committee backing the RSPB Scotland's campaign and petition, said: "The thrill of seeing a golden eagle soaring over a Scottish hillside is an unbeatable experience.
"For me they symbolise the wildest parts of our country and there is no other contender for Scotland's national bird.
"Spending my childhood on Mull meant I grew up with eagles. I've been lucky enough to see hundreds since, but each glimpse of this magical bird is still special.
"The trouble is, golden eagles should and could be more common. Scots and visitors to Scotland shouldn't hope that an eagle sighting is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, they should expect to see them regularly. That is why I'm backing the RSPB's campaign to make Scotland's national bird the golden eagle."
The RSPB says the golden eagle is already hailed as a totem of wild Scotland, used on company logos, place names and ancient burial sites. The bird was also recently voted the nation's favourite animal in a year-long poll run by Scottish Natural Heritage and the tourism agency VisitScotland.
In the vote for the Big Five (golden eagle, red squirrel, red deer, harbour seal and otter), the golden eagle secured an over-whelming 40% of the vote, double that of the red squirrel, the second most popular contender.
There are currently only 431 pairs of golden eagles in Scotland. The RSPB says that because of centuries of persecution, the birds have been almost entirely confined to the more remote areas of the country in the Highlands and Islands. Many territories remain vacant.
But now the nature conservation charity is pressing for the adoption of the golden eagle as Scotland's national bird, helping to raise its profile, turn around its fortunes and see it return once again to its former range thus increasing the chances of a sighting for visitors and local people.
Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said it came as no surprise that the spectacular species was recently named Scotland's favourite animal following a public vote.
He said the golden eagle was a "stirring symbol of strength and pride, qualities well befitting to a modern Scotland and its people".
Last year was the Year of Natural Scotland and he said: "What better legacy from that initiative than to officially designate the eagle as Scotland's national bird and join together for its future conservation?
"It would formally recognise the place this species has unofficially occupied in our culture for many centuries, and show our commitment and desire to protect and conserve it, and our wider national heritage, for generations to come."
There are claims the birds are still being targeted and last month a golden eagle was found dead in a glen in Angus having been poisoned.
The eagle, named Fearnan, was ringed as a chick in a nest near Loch Tay in Perthshire in June 2011. The bird was discovered in Glen Lethnot after suspicions were raised by satellite tracking equipment that indicated it had remained in the same place for a significant period of time.
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