{"id":19006,"date":"2012-08-06T18:33:52","date_gmt":"2012-08-06T16:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=19006"},"modified":"2021-12-05T09:28:55","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T08:28:55","slug":"the-golden-eagle-in-scotland-as-climatic-changes-take-hold-what-future-awaits-these-iconic-raptors-in-the-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/the-golden-eagle-in-scotland-as-climatic-changes-take-hold-what-future-awaits-these-iconic-raptors-in-the-21st-century\/","title":{"rendered":"The Golden Eagle in Scotland \u2013 As climatic changes take hold, what future awaits these iconic raptors in the 21st Century?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For thousands of years the Golden Eagle has survived against all the odds, finding safe refuge in one of Scotland\u2019s most rugged and beautiful landscapes in the Western Highlands of Argyll. Here amongst the isolated glens of Glen Coe\u2019s peaceful Blackmount Forest as many as eight pairs of Golden Eagles have continued to raise their families unmolested, despite all that our modern society continues to thrown at them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ancestral Home of the Golden Eagle – Buachaille Etive Mor -Blackmount Forest, Glen Coe.<\/p>\n

The Blackmount and Glen Coe regions are so mountainous that they are totally unsuitable for shooting driven grouse; as a result, for over two hundred years, estates in these regions have had to focus their commercial sporting interests almost entirely on deer stalking. As the Golden Eagle is not regarded as a major threat to the Red Deer in the two regions, Golden Eagles have remained comparatively free from human persecution. The situation is very different for the Golden Eagles which nest in the Central, Northern and in the Eastern Highlands. In these areas driven grouse shooting is far more commercially viable and, even in the twenty-first Century Golden Eagles continue to be heavily persecuted upon most of these Highland Red Grouse moors.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking across Loch Ba towards the Blackmount Forest Clen Coe<\/p>\n

Figures produced by the RSPB conclude that since 1989, at least 50 Golden Eagles have been shot or poisoned in Scotland. Many regard this figure as just the tip of a much deeper iceberg bringing shame on Scotland\u2019s reputation. One raptor expert who wishes to remain anonymous recently admitted he believed the situation in Scotland resulting from poisoning and shooting of raptors would never be resolved and populations would never recover.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Female Golden Eagle King of Birds<\/p>\n

In an article published by Raptor Politics, John Graham claimed \u201cclimate change would not kill raptors but the Government\u2019s policies would .\u201d Whether John\u2019s claims are valid or not, climate change in the Highlands of Scotland is certainly taking place. These important changes are causing problems for many of Scotland\u2019s upland birds, including Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier, Peregrine, Short-Eared Owl, Merlin, Red Grouse, Ptarmigan and Dotterelto name a few. Climatic changes taking place in the Highlands today are certainly having an adverse effect on the biodiversity within many upland ecosystems such as the Blackmount and Glen Coe regions. Here the Red Grouse, Ptarmigan and Mountain Hare are all in decline due to the combined effects of climate change, habitat erosion and heather loss due to years of over-grazing by sheep and deer.<\/p>\n

Throughout the Western Highlands in the springs of both 2010 and 2011, when above average temperatureswere followed by a much cooler period with rain almost every day for weeks on end, the breeding cycle of many upland birds was adversely effected. In 2010 the cooler and wet climate lasted well into the autumn when conditions resembled the beginning of Scotland\u2019s winter months of October and November. The precocial chicks of game birds and waders, which leave their nests after they hatch and forage on their own, are particularly vulnerable to such wet and cold conditions. For the birds that manage to survive such extreme weather patterns, they then have to contend with the parasitic tick which is passed on from Mountain Hares, sheep or Red Deer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Adult Female Golden Eagle Central Highlands<\/p>\n

In 2011 in the Glen Coe the number of Golden Eagle eyriescontaining twins was much lower than normal compared to seasons past. During a ringing visit I made to Argyll of the four ancestral Golden Eagle territories visited only two eyries contained chicks at all. The first eyrie examined on the 24th<\/sup> June contained a brood of twins, which surprisingly were only four weeks old and still in white down, while a second eyrie examined on thefollowing day contained a single well feathered male eaglet almost ready to fledge.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2012 continued the downward trend of recent years with the poorest breeding season for Skye\u2019s Golden Eagles since 1984. Only 8 young have fledged from 7 successful nests.<\/p>\n

When visiting a third eagle territory which had existed in one of Glen Coe\u2019s more remote glens for countless decades, I was disappointed to discover an estate shooting track had recently been constructed passing just a few hundred metres in front of the eagle\u2019s ancestral nesting cliff at the head of this remote glen.Looking across the burn separating the track from the cliff face the remains of several old and abandoned eyries were clearly visible. Each of the huge stick constructions had been built at various intervals across the rock face which towered 50 metres above the despoiledglen. In my opinion Golden Eagles are unlikely to return to this ancestral nesting territory because of the track\u2019s disturbing encroachment within such a secluded location. I find it curious that in Scotland estates are not obliged to consult with any statutory authorities before building such tracks across extensive tracks of their properties; even where such installations can result in the foreseen disturbance of nesting Golden Eagles. Sadly in the highlands this is a trend repeating itself upon countless additional sporting estates. These invasive roads are now causing irreparable damage to the biodiversity within these regions due to the destruction of important wildlife habitats, upon which in particular, the golden eagle and other rare or uncommon forms of flora and fauna are dependent.<\/p>\n

Female Golden Eagle standing guard alongside seven week old hungry eaglet<\/p>\n

Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, recently said: \u201cGolden Eagles require large home ranges, which can be affected by land use changes such as poorly located forestry planting, loss of prey such as rabbits and hares, wind farms and \u2013 sadly- continuing persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n

On 28 October 2010, following the consultation on six new Golden Eagle Special Protection Areas (SPA\u2019s) which took place from 13 January 2010 \u2013 7 April 2010,Scottish Natural Heritage announced that all six additional SPA\u2019s were formally classified by Scottish Ministers adding to the eight SPA\u2019s which already exist in Scotland.<\/p>\n

Taking the combined totals of 141 Golden Eagle territoriesthat existed in 2003, each of which arenow located within the fourteen designated Scottish Golden Eagle SPA\u2019s, of the 440 estimated totals of Golden Eagle territories in Scotland, just 32% of these territories are currently protected by the recent Golden Eagle SPA classification. This means as many as 299 Golden Eagle territories (68%) remain outside the Scottish Golden Eagle SPA\u2019s altogether.<\/p>\n

The six new Scottish Golden Eagle SPA\u2019s together cover an area of 400,000 hectares in northern and western Scotland and are named as follows:<\/p>\n