It has been 39 years since the iconic golden eagle was registered as breeding on Orkney.
From then the hares only had the odd great skua to be concerned about until a resident pair of white-tailed eagles set up home near the Dwarfie Stane six years ago. Now they have golden eagles to contend having returned to make their home at the island of Hoy and are breeding once again.
Earlier this year local staff with animal welfare charity RSPB Scotland were delighted to spot a pair nesting at the organisation’s nature reserve on Hoy and can confirm that they now have chicks.
The majestic pair have been seen flying about as they forage.
The golden eagle used to be a common sight and bred across Orkney but persecution by humans through habitat loss and shooting meant just a single pair was left by 1848 on Hoy.
Orkney had to wait 116 years until 1966 to see the return of breeding golden eagles.
This pair had a long and successful partnership on Hoy raising many chicks together until one of the adults died in the winter of 1982.
As golden eagles pair for life the surviving eagle continued to return to Hoy for three years but there were no further nesting attempts.
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But now a new pair have arrived and RSPB Scotland staff have been keeping a watchful eye on the new pair to see how they are faring.
As golden eagles are very sensitive to disturbance the location of the nest is not being disclosed, and the number of chicks is not known as those watching it having been keeping a safe distance away.
The species typically has one or two chicks at a time, so the local team say they are looking forward to when the young fledge to see how many emerge.
Credit: Christine Hall
Lee Shields, RSPB Scotland’s Hoy warden, said “It is wonderful to see these magnificent eagles return to Orkney and we’re delighted that they are nesting in Hoy. Golden eagles are one of the most iconic birds in Scotland and they have been missing here for too long. “We want to give these birds the best chance of success which is why it’s so important to not reveal where the nest is. It is an inspiring sight to see the male and female soaring over the Hoy hills, and we’re eagerly awaiting finding out how many chicks they have.
“This golden eagle pair are at an early stage of their breeding life and as they are long-lived birds we hope not only that they will be as successful as their predecessors, but that they are the beginning of this species re-establishing itself in Orkney. These birds are an integral part of Orkney’s history and with this pair and their young we’re keeping our fingers crossed we can look forward to them being part of its future once again.” RSPB Scotland say Hoy appears to be the go to place for returning eagles to breed in Orkney, probably due to the terrain in uninhabited areas of the island being well suited for them.
Back in 2018, Orkney’s first white-tailed eagle chicks for over 140 years hatched in Hoy.
Then RSPB Scotland ran Eaglewatch events to allow people to catch a glimpse of the birds but given the heightened sensitivity of golden eagles and as the white-tailed eagles have not bred this year, the bird charity is not repeating that. Golden eagles are one of the largest birds in Scotlandn with a lifespan typicallly of over 20 years. They are more than twice the size of a buzzard, with a wingspan of between six and seven-and-a-half feet.
All of the UK’s breeding golden eagles are found in Scotland, with the most recent national survey in 2015 putting their numbers at just 508 pairs.
The RSPB say that a number of lines of evidence indicat that illegal persecution of eagles, principally associated with grouse moor management in the central and eastern Highlands, is the most severe constraint on Scottish golden eagles.
It says the highest national priority for the conservation and management of golden eagles in Scotland is to tackle persecution in those areas where it still persists.
A secondary national priority for restorative management is to promote "greater availability of live prey in parts of the western Highlands, potentially through changes in the management of deer and sheep".
A pair of sea eagles are also nesting on RSPB Scotland’s Hoy nature reserve.
When they arrived in 2015, it was the first time these birds had attempted to breed in Orkney since 1873.
Sea eagles have a long history in Orkney. The Bronze Age burial tomb at Isbister, South Ronaldsay famously contains their bones, while a Pictish symbol stone found at the Knowe of Burrian, Harray, features a beautifully carved bird.
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