In light of recent Government decisions to proceed with Sparrowhawk Translocation Trials, and other discussions regarding quotas and translocation of Hen Harriers, it is appropriate to remind members and others of the policy statement agreed by Scottish Raptor Study Groups in November 2007. This statement was re-affirmed at a meeting of Chairmen on 29.8.08.

"The Scottish Raptor Study Groups support the total legal protection of all raptors and are firmly opposed to any change in the law and/or derogation from the European Birds Directive that might allow raptor quotas, licensed raptor control and/or translocation or any other lethal or non-lethal interventionist raptor management procedures other than those that in the opinion of the Scottish Raptor Study Groups are directed at positive conservation of raptors or (if not so directed) are judged to enhance their conservation."

Ministers were warned by their own advisers that a plan to trap and move sparrowhawks to stop them killing racing pigeons would be expensive, ineffective and illegal according to Rob Edwards in the Sunday Herald to-day.
The birds of prey have a strong homing instinct so would probably find their way back to the pigeon lofts from which they had been removed, advisers said. And if they didn’t, other sparrowhawks from nearby would simply move in, and keep preying on the pigeons. Despite this, the environment minister, Michael Russell, has ordered a revamped experiment this winter to move sparrowhawks away from pigeon lofts. Though this is regretted by environmentalists, it has been welcomed by pigeon-fanciers. Russell had originally planned a sparrowhawk relocation trial in March. But he postponed it at the last minute because delays meant it would end up interfering with the birds’ breeding season.
Now he has instructed SNH to work with the Scottish Homing Union, representing Scotland’s 3,500 pigeon-fanciers. The two organisations are discussing beginning a trial in November, covering over 40 pigeon lofts. But when Russell first proposed a relocation trial last winter, his plan was strongly criticised by his official advisers. Documents released under freedom of information legislation show that the Scottish government’s chief ecological adviser, Dr Ian Bainbridge, had serious doubts. Bainbridge pointed to evidence suggesting that birds of prey were “remarkably capable” of finding their way back to their home territories. “So I think in many cases, relocation may not work,” he said. “This is not a productive route to follow.” In an email to the government, SNH’s senior policy and advice manager, Professor Des Thompson, pointed out that removing sparrowhawks could cause more to move in, and actually increase predation on pigeons. “Legally, our advice is that there is no basis for translocation because the purpose is to protect private property, and other legal, non-lethal methods have not already been tried,” Thompson cautioned. He warned that a trial would be “extremely expensive”, costing “several hundred thousand pounds”. Both Bainbridge and Thompson also argued that sparrowhawks were likely to suffer damage to their feathers if they were trapped. SRSGs are opposed to this trial and have made submissions to the Minister.

Logie the osprey from Moray is on the point of migrating - the newly reorganised Highland Foundation of Wildlife website will carry the story of her migration to Africa, plus her two 2008 chicks, and her neighbour and the intruder which tried to steal her nest in the spring. The neighbour delighted people at the Bird Fair by dropping in on the Rutland Water osprey nests on Saturday afternoon. Logie will also feature on the BBC's World on the Move Radio 4 programme restarting in September. The young golden eagle, Alma's GPS transmitter is now into its second year of sending in detailed reports on her travels; she has mainly travelled throughout the Cairngorms National Park and its boundaries, and as far as Loch Tay, Loch Maree and Easter Ross. She is now joined on the webpages by her brother, this year's chick from Glenfeshie, and a second young male from the Cairngorms. See www.roydennis.org .

Claire Smith reports that fifteen sea eagles aged 3-3.5 mths were released in North Fife between the 10th and 19th August. This is the 2nd year out of the 5 year release programme, a partnership between RSPB Scotland, SNH and Forestry Commission. The 8 males and 7 females are currently within 5km of the release site and are utiliising the food dump, their movements somewhat hampered by the rain! One male has made it down to near Glenrothes. Due to licensing issues with wing tags this year, the birds are all fitted with a colour ring on the left leg. This is the 'year code' for the whole of Europe, so the unique 2 digits on the red band need to be read to determine which bird it is. All birds are fitted with radios with a 5 year battery life. Eleven of last year's birds are still alive, currently in Lothian, Loch Tay, Glenalmond, Fife, Forth Valley and Skye. Two birds who went to Mull have returned to Perthshire. All sightings and any behavioural info greatly appreciated, and thanks to everyone who has reported them. According to Claire, its been eerily quiet on the sightings front over the summer, and she would be grateful if any old ones could be passed on. Don't assume that Claire knows where all the birds are at any time as they wander large distances and radio-tracking only provides a snapshot of this. Full details are available at http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-196555

The Golden Eagle Trust (GET), managing the reintroduction of Scottish Golden Eagle donor stock into Glenveagh National Park, County Donegal (northwest of Ireland) alongside the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), totally refutes the recent claim by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) that Golden Eagles in Ireland are being routinely persecuted. We have kept abreast of the SGA ongoing media campaign and lobbying against the Irish project over recent years. Up till now we have refrained from responding, because we are extremely grateful to numerous Scottish estates and their staff, including many SGA members, for their fulsome support of the Irish project over the last eight years. But their latest report is too serious to ignore and is totally misleading. The Golden Eagle project manager, Lorcan O Toole, said, “ Having worked in north and central Scotland for many years, managing raptor reintroduction programmes, for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), I have first hand experience of the level of illegal persecution suppressing some raptor populations there year after year. The Irish raptor survival rates are at least comparable to all Scottish release programmes.” It is true that Ireland has lost more of its native birds of prey than any other European Country, due primarily to historical persecution (shooting, poisoning and trapping). But attitudes and land management in Ireland have changed markedly over the last 30 years. We would invite, Alex Hogg, Chairman of the SGA, to state which sector of the Irish rural community he believes is currently persecuting Irish raptors to the extent he claims. We also invite him to visit the project in Donegal and meet and discuss his concerns with the local farming and shooting bodies Since 2000, the Golden Eagle Trust has focussed on fostering positive attitudes toward the released Scottish Golden Eagles in Donegal. The Irish Farmers Association has been extremely supportive of the project in Donegal and was initially reassured by advice from Scottish National Farmers Union members. The shooting community is represented by the National Association Regional Gun Clubs (NARGC) in Ireland and they have also been consulted in Donegal and neighbouring counties and they too have endorsed the project. There are very few if any driven Red Grouse shoots in Ireland and it seems quite presumptuous for the SGA to assume that their view toward raptors prevails in Ireland. Four of the 15 White-tailed Eagles released in Kerry, (southwest of Ireland) in 2007, in a project also managed by GET and (NPWS) using Norwegian donor stock, have been poisoned. However, it is suspected one rogue farmer was responsible for poisoning three of these birds. His failure to remove fallen livestock, used as poison baits, is being fully investigated by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Yet 73% of the birds released in County Kerry have survived their first year and the project enjoys well documented local public support. The Norwegian authorities remain committed to the project and a further 20 Norwegian birds are due for release shortly. 30 Red Kites, collected from Wales, were also released in 2007 in County Wicklow (southeast of Ireland), again by the GET and NPWS. One bird was shot and the incident was condemned by local farmers and gun clubs alike. The Chairman of the NARGC, Des Croften, said at the time, “he was horrified to learn of the incident and he unreservedly condemned it”. 79% of the 2007 Red Kite cohort were still alive in March 2008 and several first year pairs have already formed territories, which bodes well for future breeding prospects. 53 kites were collected from Wales by the Golden Eagle Trust and the Welsh Kite Trust in 2008. 27 of these were sent to County Down (northeast of the island of Ireland) here the RSPB has begun Northern Ireland’s first raptor reintroduction programme. The 26 other birds were added to the Wicklow population. The Donegal Golden Eagle project enjoys the full support of the Donegal farming community and representative bodies, the local and national Gun Clubs, the important local tourism sector and the wider general public. We challenge the SGA to carry out a quick and independent web search for ‘Irish Golden Eagles’ and verify for themselves the overwhelming local and national support for the project. As a border county, it is also important to note the widespread cross community support the project enjoys in adjacent Northern Ireland. The Irish Golden Eagle project has been funded by the European Union through its LIFE Nature Funding programme. The initial seed funding came from the National Millennium Committee and has been funded in recent years by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Heritage Council. We have released 50 Scottish birds over the last 7 years and a further four birds are due to be released shortly. We are only allowed collected a single chick from a nest containing two chicks. We have collected the birds as young chicks at 4-6 weeks of age and several of the birds have shown the signs of malnutrition, due to natural shortages of local prey or due to bad weather suppressing adult hunting activity during the chick stage. We are convinced that a minority of the birds we collected would not have survived if left in the Scottish eyries. Our aim is to release up to 75 birds. In Scotland, over 140 Norwegian White-tailed Eagles were released in order to establish a viable population on the west coast. In 2007, an Irish Golden Eagle chick fledged in the Republic of Ireland for the first time in almost 100 years. The adult female was collected from Assyant, Sutherland in 2001 and the adult male was collected from Skye in 2002. The Irish Farmers Association Donegal Chairman, William Monagle, said at the time “it was great to see the arrival of the eagle chick and there had been strong consultation between the two groups from the outset. It has worked very well.. … and the farmers have had no problem with it. That certainly is my view and the view of the county executive”. Five of the fifty birds have been found dead and all are believed to have died from natural causes. There is circumstantial and anecdotal evidence to suggest that a Golden Eagle was poisoned in Donegal and another bird was shot in Mayo, but the corpses were never recovered. We do suspect that other birds may have died and gone unrecorded, as happens in all other wild bird populations. There are currently 10 territorial birds in County Donegal, including four pairs and two territorial males. There has been a lot of dispersal of young birds outside of Donegal in recent years with sightings from every coastal county from Kerry to County Down. Shane Jones, a professional Gamekeeper, from County Clare in west coast of Ireland, said, “I am not aware of any negativity among the shooting community toward the Golden Eagle project” and another young gamekeeper near Limavady in County Derry/Londonderry was delighted when he first spotted, and quickly informed the project manager, when a young eagle settled on his estate for several weeks in late 2007. Whilst we need to minimise poisoning and shooting as much as possible we also need to continue releasing donor stock in order to establish a viable population. In past decades many of us in Ireland looked on in envy, as Scotland enhanced its native biodiversity with assistance from Norway, Sweden and Germany in providing White-tailed Eagle and Red Kite donor stock. Now the Golden Eagle Trust and numerous Irish commentators are very grateful for the Support this project enjoys in Scotland. We acknowledge the support the Scottish Estate landowners, gamekeepers and deer stalkers have given the Irish reintroduction programme, since 2001. We appreciate the ongoing support and licence approval by the Scottish Ministers, Scottish Executive and Scottish Natural Heritage. We are totally reliant and thankful for the voluntary effort of so many individuals across Scotland within the Scottish Raptor Study Groups, the Highland Foundation for Wildlife, The Forestry Commission, the RSPB and the National Trust for Scotland in facilitating the project. Yes, Ireland has many lessons to learn as we quickly re-establish our lost native birds of prey. But the complete loss of so many Irish birds of prey has not lead to a glorious multitude of Red Grouse and other game birds as the SGA often suggests would happen in raptor free areas. Indeed many Irish gamekeepers believe that the loss of naturally less numerous large predators from the Irish food chain appears to have lead to a further increase in the more numerous medium sized predators such as Hooded Crow, foxes and magpies. This in turn is likely to have had an even bigger impact on breeding game birds and waders in Ireland. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association has called for the collection of young Scottish eagles to be halted. Ironically, it is quite probable, that there would have been no need for an Irish release programme if the annual persecution of the Scottish Golden Eagle population has ceased over the last twenty years. The Scottish population would respond to a complete cessation of persecution quite rapidly. However the current artificial mortality has limited the natural expansion of the Scottish population into the former Golden Eagle range in northern England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Surplus young from the West coast of Scotland are, according to the latest Scottish scientific findings (see A conservation framework for Golden Eagles: implications for their conservation and management in Scotland , available on the SNH website at www.snh.org.uk) likely to drift into unoccupied suitable territories in the east of Scotland only to be killed year after year. We recall that the inaugural Fist Minister in Scotland, the late Donald Dewar, MSP, said bird of prey persecution was a ‘National disgrace’ and more recently the Scottish Environment Minister Michael Russell said, “The golden eagle is a magnificent bird of prey and a key species for Scotland and I find this evidence of its decline deeply disturbing. …the report, alas, gives scientific proof, if further proof was needed, that the illegal use of poisoned meat baits continues to blight our country.” Ireland now recognises and regrets our past mistake of driving Golden Eagles and other native birds to extinction. They were once an important part of our biodiversity and an equally important part of our cultural heritage. As a people we have made great strides, especially over the last eight years, to rectify that loss. In the above context, how can the SGA lecture us and condemn the outcome of an Irish project they have never visited or even contacted. We hope and believe the majority of Scottish people will continue to support efforts to see Golden Eagles restored beyond their current restricted range in Scotland and once more reoccupy former haunts in parts of Northern England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Contact: Lorcan O Toole, Golden Eagle Trust Ltd. 00 353 74 9137070 from outside the Republic of Ireland Or 074 91 37070

Many more bad news stories have been carried on this site than good news in the context of Golden Eagles. The weather in the west of Scotland has been excellent throughout the breeding season and this may also have been reflected in improved breeding figures. The situation is more patchy elsewhere but it was also extremely heartening to hear that the female eagle poisoned in the Borders had been replaced, and that the pair successfully fledged a young bird. Breeding success on Skye reached a long term low of 9 fledged young in 2007 and this has almost doubled to 17 in 2008 - however this has to be taken in the context of the 25 year average of 16.36, and the last 5 year average still shows a significant decline. In south Argyll, 14 young have fledged in 2008, including twins at the much publicised Beinn an Tuirc site. This is the best productivity in Argyll since 1985. It is also understood that productivity has been good in the Western Isles, on Mull and at Morvern and Ardnamurchan.

A new scientific study on the impact of raptors on the abundance of upland passerines and waders has been published in 'Oikos'. (see also Publications pages). Rising numbers of birds of prey do not spell disaster for threatened species of ground nesting birds, contrary to repeated claims that the two go hand in hand. In fact numbers of Curlew and Lapwing actually increased at the same time as Hen Harriers flourished in the absence of illegal persecution during a study at Langholm during the 1990's. Curlew and Lapwing numbers increased during the period of the study rising by 106% and 66% respectively. Numbers of Meadow Pipits declined and the study showed that Harriers may have limited the abundance of this species which is their principal prey For a full press release see http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-196100 and also see publications pages.