For the first time in almost 150 years red kite chicks have hatched in Aberdeenshire and the public are being offered the chance to keep up with their progress via two new CCTV viewing points. The chicks were raised by birds released two years ago as part of the Aberdeen Red Kites re-introduction project, which will have released almost 100 of the birds by the end of the summer. Jenny Lennon, the Aberdeen Red Kites project officer said, “ It’s fantastic to see our recently re-introduced birds raising their first chicks. Being new parents they still have a lot to do to make sure their chicks successfully fledge, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that they’ll make it”. Aberdeen Red Kites is a three year project to reintroduce kites to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. 30 birds were released in 2007, 35 in 2008 and another 30-35 will be released in July this year. Many of the birds have been named by schools and local business. CCTV pictures from the nest, in association with Forestry Commission Scotland, will be beamed to two points in the city for the public to view, VSA Easter Anguston and St Nicholas Kirk. RSPB staff and volunteers will be at VSA Easter Anguston Farm just off the North Deeside road beyond Culter, at the weekends from 10am-4pm to show the public live pictures from the nest and on Thursdays and Fridays from 12noon to 4pm RSPB staff and volunteers will be at St Nicholas Kirk in the city centre, with the latest recorded nest footage. The public will be able to see the nest pictures until the chicks fledge and leave the nest in mid-July. The Aberdeen Red Kites project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Aberdeen Greenspace through the Landfill Community Fund and Scottish Natural Heritage, with additional contributions from local businesses Stewart Milne Group and Raeburn, Christie, Clarke and Wallace.

Although the Lewis and Harris Raptor Study Group has been in existence for some months, we have only now updated everything on the website so this is by way of a formal welcome and announcement of their arrival. They are now the 11th area group in Scotland and are currently made up of nine members. It is hoped that through the formation of the group a greater insight will be established into raptor distribution, populations and breeding success in on the island. Image of Sparrowhawk by Frank Stark one of the members. To learn more about the group click on Area Groups.

East Scotland Sea Eagles is a five year project (2007-2011) returning white-tailed sea eagles to East Scotland. The project is a partnership between RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) who host the release site. This newsletter provides updates on the project, but more information can also be found on the RSPB website and in the project blog: http://blogs.rspb.org.uk/eastscotlandeagles/default. During the winter and spring East Scotland Sea Eagles have been seen from Shetland to Cumbria! On the 20th December 2008 we received the first sighting of one of the released birds fishing just north of Arbroath. The communal roost that the 2008 birds established in the Carse of Gowrie, east of Perth, in September, built up to a maximum of 8 birds in January and is now back down to 3 at the time of writing. In February and March the birds followed the pattern of the previous year with a second dispersal. Five birds moved south-west, three of which visited Argaty red kite centre, following visits by ‘T’ and ‘K’ last year, bringing the total number of individual birds to visit the site up to five. During the cold snap, the sea eagles seemed to do well whilst some other wildlife was under stress. Two birds spent some time at Blair Drummond Safari Park where a male and female hunted goldeneye together, repeatedly dive bombing them in a small unfrozen corner of the loch. Birds again spent time at Carsebreck, an important site for wildfowl near Blackford and where birds T & 5 spent time last year. This allowed some fantastic video footage to be shot of the birds putting up a flock of pink-footed geese which can be viewed on YouTube by searching for ‘sea eagle and geese’. For further information on the East Scotland Sea Eagle project or if you would like to report a sighting please contact Claire Smith, East Scotland Sea Eagle Officer. Email: Telephone: 01738 630783

Roy Dennis reports that in 2008, there was excellent coverage and a record total of 205 to 210 pairs were monitored, which is the first time over 200 pairs was recorded – another key milestone in the ospreys’ recovery – although it’s important to remember the potential population for the British Isles would be ten times more. Although the early arrivals got through on time or early, there was again poor weather in North Africa and Iberia in April which caused delays and losses. Overall it was an excellent breeding season and there were increases, especially in South Scotland. A total of 177 -184 pairs were known to lay eggs and of these 148-149 pairs were successful and reared a total of 303+ young, which is another record and probably the most for 250 years. Five - six pairs also nested in England and Wales and reared a total of ten young. This newsletter is a summary which brings together information gathered in the four study areas by the ornithologists who study and protect ospreys in Scotland. Local people and members of the Scottish Raptor Study Groups supply their observations, as do RSPB wardens and staff of the Forestry Commission and Scottish Natural Heritage. If you find a nest please report it so that we can maintain a complete record of recolonisation. Roy and his team would like to thank everyone, landowners, factors, keepers, farmers, foresters and naturalists, involved with ospreys and their conservation, for their great help and interest in 2008. Please contact Roy if you become aware of any new nests - and for information on the Osprey satellite tracking project - see www.roydennis.org/

Following our story on 18th April the Irish Times has reported that the poisoned carcasses of two rare white-tailed sea eagles have been discovered in the Waterville area of south west Kerry. The birds had been reintroduced to Ireland last August from Norway as part of a programme to re-establish a viable breeding population of sea eagles in south-west Ireland. The photograph by Valerie O'Sullivan shows Dr Allan Mee of the White Tailed Eagle Project with the two poisoned birds. The Golden Eagle Trust said last month it intended to lodge an official complaint with the European Commission over the continuing poisoning of birds of prey. The trust and BirdWatch Ireland called for an urgent review of the laws covering the supply, storage, use and misuse of poisons and the enforcement of these laws and regulations. Recent changes in legislation by the Department of the Environment prohibited the use of meat baits in the control of birds, but the Department of Agriculture’s Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act 1965 still allowed, in restricted circumstances, the use of poison baits to control foxes. This brings the total of White-tailed Eagles poisoned in Ireland to at least seven since the birds were first introduced in 2007. It remains critically important for everyone to sign the petition at http://www.goldeneagle.ie/. However it must also be realised that banned substances will continue to be used indiscriminately for many years. We know that some estates in Scotland have been poisoning birds continuously for the last 25 years, despite incidents being repeatedly reported to the police. There are currently at least four active investigations into poisoning incidents in Scotland. The road to reintroduction success for Golden and White-tailed Eagles in Ireland will therefore be a long and difficult one without the full support of everyone in local communities let alone Government and legislative protection. Those involved from doner countries may justfiably ask whether it is appropriate to release rare and iconic species where the risks are so high.