White-tailed Eagle breeding summary 2013

12th September 2013

Skye and Lochalsh have 16 established White-tailed Eagle territories, two of which were confirmed as attempting to breed for the first time in 2013.

Thirteen pairs of White-tailed Eagles were confirmed as attempting to breed and despite the wet and windy weather during the incubation period, 10 of these were successful. In total, 14 chicks fledged.

Luckily, the moor burning in the spring did not cause any breeding attempts to fail but some burns were worryingly close to eyries. Human disturbance remains a threat to White-tailed Eagle breeding attempts with evidence recorded of birds being disturbed at nest sites during the season.

All in all, it has been a good season for White-tailed Eagles in the area. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their contributions to the monitoring of White-tailed Eagles and for their assistance in my work this season. It has been a thoroughly enjoyable season

S. Harris 2013

Sarah Harris.

THE BOOK

"A glorious little gem"

AMAZON

"A book such as this has to look backwards and the author does so succinctly, looking at the work of several of the pioneering naturalists before picking out the publications of JA Harvie-Brown and the Rev. Hugh Macpherson. I know this book fills a real gap in the information available for the Isle of Skye and it will surely sell well at local bookshops."

Andrew Currie Miscellany West Highland Free Press

"A total of 238 species have been recorded, with 14 of those 'red listed' as of high conservation concern ... another innovation has been the inclusion of Gaelic names for some birds. While this is not uncommon in a few other books, the addition of some regional Gaelic names is very unusual and very welcome."

Ray Collier Country Diary 'Up in the Skye' The Guardian

"Illustrated with beautiful photographs of current birdlife on the island, the publication also features sketches by Jean Thomas of The Little Gallery, Portnalong, stimulating the reader's interest further and allowing them to identify species they encounter on Skye."

The Hebridean