Highland golden eagle chicks set to fly south for new home

● Wildlife project set to boost bird numbers in south

A project to boost golden eagle numbers in the south of Scotland is being launched next year.

Golden eagle chicks are to be released to boost the number of the iconic birds.

The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project will be collecting eagle chicks from the Highlands and Islands in the summer and raising and releasing them as satellite-tagged juveniles in early autumn.

There are only two to four

JEDBURGH

pairs of golden eagles in the area, however a supporting project study revealed there is suitable habitat for between ten and 16 breeding pairs.

Recent satellite tagging work of golden eagles in Scotland has shown the south of Scotland golden eagle population is greatly isolated from larger populations of the species from the Highlands.

Starting in summer 2018 and for the next four years it is planned to bring up to ten chicks south.

The team will collect single eagle chicks from broods of two young in the Highlands and raise and release them in an undisclosed location in the Moffat Hills area.

The public will have oppor- tunities to learn about the golden eagles from CCTV footage, trails and events

The team is recruiting two community outreach officers who will work with schools and the local communities, and a part-time stakeholder engagement officer who will work with local landowners and gamekeepers.

They are also seeking a fulltime eagle officer to lead on the collection and reintroduction programme. The post is highly specialised and the team has been in contact with a number of expert candidates from countries around the world

The five-year Galashielsbased project, announced last year, has already secured £1.3 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund. They have now received £158,024 match funding from Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders Leader programmes, plus a licence from Scottish Natural Heritage to undertake the work.

Roseanna Cunningham, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the environment, climate change and land reform, said: “We must protect and enhance Scotland’s biodiversity and the new team will be doing exactly that.

“Their work will help secure the future of golden eagles in the south of Scotland and benefit local communities through a range of tourism and educational opportunities.”