Probe after rare birds of prey vanish as satellite tags fall silent

A PROBE has been launched after two of the UK’s largest and rarest birds of prey disappeared in a single day over shooting estates.

The RSPB said the two sea eagles went missing in ‘highly suspicious circumstances’ in grouse moors in Aberdeenshire and Inverness-shire. It said transmission from tags attached to the birds ceased on July 22.

They were both from the first generation of chicks born after a successful reintroduction of sea eagles.

Searches have been held by police and government agencies but no trace of the birds or their tags has been found, according to RSPB Scotland.

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s head of investigations, said: ‘Yet again, rare, protected birds of prey have disappeared in highly suspicious circumstances, with their last known locations on grouse moors. And yet again, we can be almost certain these birds have been killed, with those responsible destroying the evidence.’

The birds, also known as whitetailed eagles, have returned through a reintroduction project run by RSPB Scotland, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage between 2007 and 2012.

RSPB Scotland said officers were monitoring the eagles’ tag data and, in both cases, they suddenly ceased transmitting. The National Wildlife Crime Unit and Police Scotland were notified and officers dispatched to the last known locations of the tags.

However, neither the birds nor transmitters were found. The RSPB said officers suspect the birds were ‘illegally killed’.

A spokesman for The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: ‘There needs to be caution when dealing with satellite tag incidents. Satellite tags can and do fail. We have seen cases where birds that have been given up for dead have later been located.’

A police spokesman said: ‘We have received reports of two missing white tailed eagles in the Tomatin area of Invernesshire and the Banchory area of Aberdeenshire. The disappearance is being treated as unexplained.’