Chris Monk
Well-known member
From the RSPB web site:
2006 Mull white-tailed eagle diary
http://www.rspb.org.uk/scotland/birdwatching_Scotland/eaglediary/index.asp
Once again, Mull's famous white-tailed eagles, Skye and Frisa, have hatched two eggs. Read our diary for exclusive insights into what they and their chicks are getting up to. This project is a partnership between Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Mull and Iona Community Trust, Strathclyde Police and the RSPB. We are grateful to the Nadair Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund which support the Mull Eagle Watch/ABB Project.
Friday, 11 August 2006
The wind beneath their wings
It's been a month now since Haggis and Oatie took their first flights from their nest by Loch Frisa on Mull and I thought you might appreciate an update.
For the first week or two, they didn't go far and spent most of the time either on the ground or on fallen trees around the nest site. At the end of July, Kate Humble and a TV crew arrived to film a short piece about how this year's offspring were faring.*
Kate knows Frisa and Skye well from their Springwatch appearances and is always keen to know how last year's famous twins Itchy and Scratchy are doing (they are both alive and well, Scratchy being seen on Mull recently and Itchy on mainland Argyll).
We were all delighted to see Oatie perched out in the open down by the loch and then to see him fly strongly (if only just off the ground!) to perch on a wall. Later, we located Haggis, too, in the wood and Oatie flew back round to join him. They seem to like each other's company and feel uneasy if they are apart for very long.
'...flying up the track towards us and just a few metres off the ground was Oatie! He flew right over our heads, the noise of his wings flapping hard in the wind'Frisa flew across the loch, off on a hunting trip, leaving both chicks in the shade of the trees but still panting in the heat. The BBC got the film they wanted and we were all pleased to see the chicks looking so well.
I've been away for a few weeks but yesterday went up to see how they were both doing. I immediately found Skye perched on the far side of the loch and hoped the chicks might be nearby. However, an hour or so later, there was no sign. Skye flew up the loch and out of sight.
It was a cool and breezy day, very different conditions to the heatwave of a few weeks back. I scanned back and forth and suddenly there they were - both chicks flying together on the far side of the loch. To say they were playing may be stretching a point, but they were certainly enjoying themelves.
They chased and dived, stooped and talon-grappled with each other. Flying well and strongly. Flying like eagles. They landed on the ground and continued the game, chasing and pouncing
on each other.
One of them (it was too far to read the tag) grabbed hold of a loose feather on his wing and held it in his beak. He let it go and as it fluttered off, he hopped over and grabbed it again. He repeated this several times until it drifted off over the bracken. Maybe they were playing after all? After all that exertion, they rested, one of them laying down, full-stretch.
I set about clearing out the trailer next to the public hide and was joined by a couple on holiday who had travelled up from Yorkshire especially to see the eagles. I was suddenly aware of much gesticulating and pointing and there flying up the track towards us and just a few metres off the ground was Oatie! He flew right over our heads, the noise of his wings flapping hard in the wind. It was the closest I've been to him since we wing-tagged them in June.
He was clearly being curious about what was going on at this hide, which he had grown up watching from his nest. Now he could come and investigate for himself!
Amazingly, he perched on the hillside near the Simon King's famous tree stump (where he presented 'Springwatch' from last year), just a short way up the hill. He watched us and we watched him. He was completely at ease. The two lucky visitors watched spellbound, snapping photos like mad. This was a close encounter with an eagle they would never forget.
Eventually, he half opened his wings and let the wind carry him up for one last look at us before drifting away over the ridge. Both he and Haggis had made it! It made you feel proud. All the work by the police and the local community Mull Eagle Watch had been worth it. They will stick with Frisa and Skye for a few months yet but by Christmas they will be fending for themselves and trying to go it alone through their first wild Hebridean winter.
We all wish them well and thank them for the hours of joy they've brought to the thousands of visitors to the hide this year. Also by Christmas, Frisa and Skye will be settling into their new breeding site, nest-building and preparing for their next family.
I wonder if they'll be back at this site? Maybe they'll settle somewhere else along Loch Frisa. Wherever they are, we'll all be there to watch over them. We hope you will be too.
*Catch up with Haggis and Oatie, Dave Sexton and Kate Humble on 'The One Show', Friday 8 September 2006 on BBC 1 at 7 pm.
2006 Mull white-tailed eagle diary
http://www.rspb.org.uk/scotland/birdwatching_Scotland/eaglediary/index.asp
Once again, Mull's famous white-tailed eagles, Skye and Frisa, have hatched two eggs. Read our diary for exclusive insights into what they and their chicks are getting up to. This project is a partnership between Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Mull and Iona Community Trust, Strathclyde Police and the RSPB. We are grateful to the Nadair Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund which support the Mull Eagle Watch/ABB Project.
Friday, 11 August 2006
The wind beneath their wings
It's been a month now since Haggis and Oatie took their first flights from their nest by Loch Frisa on Mull and I thought you might appreciate an update.
For the first week or two, they didn't go far and spent most of the time either on the ground or on fallen trees around the nest site. At the end of July, Kate Humble and a TV crew arrived to film a short piece about how this year's offspring were faring.*
Kate knows Frisa and Skye well from their Springwatch appearances and is always keen to know how last year's famous twins Itchy and Scratchy are doing (they are both alive and well, Scratchy being seen on Mull recently and Itchy on mainland Argyll).
We were all delighted to see Oatie perched out in the open down by the loch and then to see him fly strongly (if only just off the ground!) to perch on a wall. Later, we located Haggis, too, in the wood and Oatie flew back round to join him. They seem to like each other's company and feel uneasy if they are apart for very long.
'...flying up the track towards us and just a few metres off the ground was Oatie! He flew right over our heads, the noise of his wings flapping hard in the wind'Frisa flew across the loch, off on a hunting trip, leaving both chicks in the shade of the trees but still panting in the heat. The BBC got the film they wanted and we were all pleased to see the chicks looking so well.
I've been away for a few weeks but yesterday went up to see how they were both doing. I immediately found Skye perched on the far side of the loch and hoped the chicks might be nearby. However, an hour or so later, there was no sign. Skye flew up the loch and out of sight.
It was a cool and breezy day, very different conditions to the heatwave of a few weeks back. I scanned back and forth and suddenly there they were - both chicks flying together on the far side of the loch. To say they were playing may be stretching a point, but they were certainly enjoying themelves.
They chased and dived, stooped and talon-grappled with each other. Flying well and strongly. Flying like eagles. They landed on the ground and continued the game, chasing and pouncing
on each other.
One of them (it was too far to read the tag) grabbed hold of a loose feather on his wing and held it in his beak. He let it go and as it fluttered off, he hopped over and grabbed it again. He repeated this several times until it drifted off over the bracken. Maybe they were playing after all? After all that exertion, they rested, one of them laying down, full-stretch.
I set about clearing out the trailer next to the public hide and was joined by a couple on holiday who had travelled up from Yorkshire especially to see the eagles. I was suddenly aware of much gesticulating and pointing and there flying up the track towards us and just a few metres off the ground was Oatie! He flew right over our heads, the noise of his wings flapping hard in the wind. It was the closest I've been to him since we wing-tagged them in June.
He was clearly being curious about what was going on at this hide, which he had grown up watching from his nest. Now he could come and investigate for himself!
Amazingly, he perched on the hillside near the Simon King's famous tree stump (where he presented 'Springwatch' from last year), just a short way up the hill. He watched us and we watched him. He was completely at ease. The two lucky visitors watched spellbound, snapping photos like mad. This was a close encounter with an eagle they would never forget.
Eventually, he half opened his wings and let the wind carry him up for one last look at us before drifting away over the ridge. Both he and Haggis had made it! It made you feel proud. All the work by the police and the local community Mull Eagle Watch had been worth it. They will stick with Frisa and Skye for a few months yet but by Christmas they will be fending for themselves and trying to go it alone through their first wild Hebridean winter.
We all wish them well and thank them for the hours of joy they've brought to the thousands of visitors to the hide this year. Also by Christmas, Frisa and Skye will be settling into their new breeding site, nest-building and preparing for their next family.
I wonder if they'll be back at this site? Maybe they'll settle somewhere else along Loch Frisa. Wherever they are, we'll all be there to watch over them. We hope you will be too.
*Catch up with Haggis and Oatie, Dave Sexton and Kate Humble on 'The One Show', Friday 8 September 2006 on BBC 1 at 7 pm.
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