Golden Eagle on Rum

19th May 2021

At Kilmory on Rum today Sean Morris observed a Golden Eagle carrying prey, a still alive female Red Grouse. The Eagle, most likely an adult, landed with the prey near the beach but was being mobbed by Gulls and Crows. There were also deer close by and a hind with a two day old calf. The hind ran at the Eagle and chased it off obviously fearing the bird might attack the calf. The Red Grouse (image) was left behind but died. As the Eagle flew off it was also attacked by an alarming male Merlin, as well as Common Gulls. It perched briefly but clearly decided the Grouse was more trouble than it was worth and eventually flew off. Sometimes life is not smooth for our apex predator. There are recent images of a life Red Grouse in the gallery.

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