THE white-tailed eagle, or sea eagle, is beyond doubt one of the most magnificent creatures that can be spotted in the wilds of Scotland. It’s a wonder of our natural world with its distinctive brown and white markings, enormous fingered wings and huge claws.

Having been wiped out by illegal killing in 1918, its reintroduction in 1975 has been a conservation success story. There are now estimated to be 150 breeding pairs established, mostly on the west coast. They are a massive attraction for tourists, but not everyone is so keen on seeing these apex predators, however, with some farmers and crofters citing predation on lambs as a serious concern.

This is why NatureScot is on a mission to support both eagles and those experiencing predation, with the long-term aim of enabling them to live alongside each other.

Andrew Kent, operations officer for NatureScot, explains: “There was an acceptance some years ago that in some places eagles do take healthy lambs and we’ve been working closely with farmers and crofters experiencing issues to try to find solutions.

“Obviously, the eagles are a draw to tourists: they’re part of our natural environment again, but where they do have an impact it can be quite significant to farmers’ and crofters’ businesses.”

These issues led to the creation of a national Sea Eagle Management Scheme in 2011. Last year a significantly revised scheme provided support through management agreements.

“The scheme provides advice and support to farmers and crofters who are experiencing issues,” says Andrew. “There’s also the National Sea Eagle Stakeholder Panel, a partnership of stakeholder representatives, which is working together to try and find solutions to this complex issue. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve a sustainable coexistence between sea eagles and farmers and crofters experiencing predation impacts.”

Andrew points out the solution cannot simply be paying a farmer or crofter for the loss of each lamb. Predation on hill flocks affects recruitment to the flock, which is adapted to that environment and hefted to that place. There is also the challenge of different geographical environments and farming and crofting systems.

Andrew says: “The scheme is set up to try and address these different farming and crofting systems and has to be flexible to take account of the fact that we have issues being reported from the very north of Lewis to Kintyre.

“The landscapes and management systems are very different across the regions of Scotland where we are working, even though the distance between many may not be too far.

“What might work for one farmer or crofter might not work for another so we’ve supported projects where stock can be brought inside to lamb and reduce the interaction with eagles on the open hills, when lambs are young and more vulnerable to predation.

“Some farmers and crofters are now keeping twin lambs on their low ground for longer instead of putting them back to the hill immediately, to mitigate against potential eagle interaction. This can reduce silage production though, so the scheme can also help offset some of the costs associated with loss of silage yield because of these management changes.

“We’ve also learnt from our work on monitor farms, where additional human presence on the hill, in some places, can deter eagle interaction with flocks. This has led to the development of new measures such as enhanced shepherding, targeted at more extensive areas where options in the previous scheme were limited. The enhanced shepherding measure is not only helping to develop our shared understanding of the specific issues on these areas and the influence of additional human presence, but is also helping to support seasonal rural employment.”

Shepherds work with NatureScot staff and call-off contractor and observer teams. The enhanced shepherding measure is a good example of ongoing collaborative work and is helping build a better understanding of eagle behaviour on these areas, lamb predation and the influence of other factors in losses.

“It’s vital to collect information on what the birds are doing,” says Andrew, “and what other pressures exist on the hill that could be influencing the level of lamb loss in individual years. That’s the difficulty where issues are occurring: trying to put your finger on how much of the lamb loss the eagles are responsible for. It’s a complex picture but farmers and crofters can help by providing data back to the scheme in annual reporting.”

Despite this complexity, Andrew is optimistic about achieving a solution for both eagles and farmers. “All of the key stakeholders are at the table, representing the various interests in this subject. I think that’s crucial because, in the long term, it’s going to have to be a collaborative solution, reached through finding areas of common ground then working through areas where there is not yet agreement. That’s what the stakeholder panel was set up to do.”

More information on the Sea Eagle Management Scheme can be found at www.nature.scot

This article was brought to you in association with NatureScot