Chris Monk
Well-known member
Scotland on Sunday http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1833552006
Sun 10 Dec 2006
Sea eagle spreads its wings to head east
JEREMY WATSON ([email protected])
THE iconic white-tailed sea eagle will once again fly over the east coast of Scotland under an ambitious plan to reintroduce one of the world's biggest birds of prey to its former range.
Up to 100 of the birds - with 8ft wingspans - will be released in the Forth/Tay estuary area over a five-year period.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has already applied to the Scottish Executive for a licence to release sea eagle chicks imported from Norway. The Executive's adviser, Scottish Natural Heritage, have now agreed to pay half the costs of the £250,000 project.
But landowners and farmers fear the eagles, bigger than golden eagles, will prey on livestock along the rich east coast farmlands. Lambs have been taken by the giant birds of prey during a similar successful reintroduction on the west coast of Scotland and the National Farmers' Union Scotland claims releases close to towns and cities could have "unpredictable" consequences.
The Executive will launch a public consultation once a site, most likely to be close to a fish-rich estuary, has been selected.
Sea eagles were abundant along both the west and east coasts, but were hunted to extinction by Victorian and Edwardian gamekeepers, with the last bird shot on Shetland in 1918.
Reintroduction to the west coast began in 1975, with releases on the remote island of Rum, and later on the Letterewe Estate in the north-west Highlands.
The birds have spread to west coast islands, including Mull and Skye, and are successfully breeding in the wild.
But although at least 30 pairs are now established, the bird's long-term future still remains uncertain.
Andrew Douse, an SNH scientist involved in the project, said: "These dramatic and unmistakable birds have a huge wingspan and are a very impressive sight."
Duncan Orr-Ewing, head of species and land management at RSPB Scotland, said: "This project will extend the range of this magnificent and awe inspiring species to the east coast of Scotland, bringing it far closer to people and opening up the very considerable economic benefits from tourism that have been reaped by places where sea eagles can be seen, like Mull.
"Their natural habitat is lowland wetland, coastal and estuarine areas. These are much richer feeding grounds for sea eagles, where their diet comprises both fish and water birds that are often scavenged or taken alive."
Sea eagle-related tourism is now estimated to bring around £1.7m a year into Mull. But, as SNH points out in a report on the reintroduction programme, extending the range to eastern Scotland brings both "opportunities" and "risks".
"The presence of sea eagles has had a number of unforeseen consequences, in particular localised but problematic predation on livestock (especially lambs)," the report says.
However, it adds that the problem has largely been overcome by persuading farmers to look after eagle sites because of the economic benefits the birds bring.
NFU Scotland states it is not opposed, in principle, to the reintroduction of species, but wants a thorough examination of the potential risks.
For example, a spokeswoman said, sea eagles reintroduced on the west coast had found a "plentiful and readily available supply of lamb", changing their eating habits from the historically preferred diet of fish and birds, "causing damage and concern to the local farming community".
Sun 10 Dec 2006
Sea eagle spreads its wings to head east
JEREMY WATSON ([email protected])
THE iconic white-tailed sea eagle will once again fly over the east coast of Scotland under an ambitious plan to reintroduce one of the world's biggest birds of prey to its former range.
Up to 100 of the birds - with 8ft wingspans - will be released in the Forth/Tay estuary area over a five-year period.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has already applied to the Scottish Executive for a licence to release sea eagle chicks imported from Norway. The Executive's adviser, Scottish Natural Heritage, have now agreed to pay half the costs of the £250,000 project.
But landowners and farmers fear the eagles, bigger than golden eagles, will prey on livestock along the rich east coast farmlands. Lambs have been taken by the giant birds of prey during a similar successful reintroduction on the west coast of Scotland and the National Farmers' Union Scotland claims releases close to towns and cities could have "unpredictable" consequences.
The Executive will launch a public consultation once a site, most likely to be close to a fish-rich estuary, has been selected.
Sea eagles were abundant along both the west and east coasts, but were hunted to extinction by Victorian and Edwardian gamekeepers, with the last bird shot on Shetland in 1918.
Reintroduction to the west coast began in 1975, with releases on the remote island of Rum, and later on the Letterewe Estate in the north-west Highlands.
The birds have spread to west coast islands, including Mull and Skye, and are successfully breeding in the wild.
But although at least 30 pairs are now established, the bird's long-term future still remains uncertain.
Andrew Douse, an SNH scientist involved in the project, said: "These dramatic and unmistakable birds have a huge wingspan and are a very impressive sight."
Duncan Orr-Ewing, head of species and land management at RSPB Scotland, said: "This project will extend the range of this magnificent and awe inspiring species to the east coast of Scotland, bringing it far closer to people and opening up the very considerable economic benefits from tourism that have been reaped by places where sea eagles can be seen, like Mull.
"Their natural habitat is lowland wetland, coastal and estuarine areas. These are much richer feeding grounds for sea eagles, where their diet comprises both fish and water birds that are often scavenged or taken alive."
Sea eagle-related tourism is now estimated to bring around £1.7m a year into Mull. But, as SNH points out in a report on the reintroduction programme, extending the range to eastern Scotland brings both "opportunities" and "risks".
"The presence of sea eagles has had a number of unforeseen consequences, in particular localised but problematic predation on livestock (especially lambs)," the report says.
However, it adds that the problem has largely been overcome by persuading farmers to look after eagle sites because of the economic benefits the birds bring.
NFU Scotland states it is not opposed, in principle, to the reintroduction of species, but wants a thorough examination of the potential risks.
For example, a spokeswoman said, sea eagles reintroduced on the west coast had found a "plentiful and readily available supply of lamb", changing their eating habits from the historically preferred diet of fish and birds, "causing damage and concern to the local farming community".
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