White-tailed Eagles

White-tailed Eagle by Uclax

The magnificent White-tailed (or Sea) Eagle is Britain’s largest and rarest bird of prey. Once spotted they are fairly easy to distinguish with a brown body and pale head and neck and white tail feathers. Sea eagles have a slightly scruffy look and when in flight their massive wings have clear fingered ends and a wedge shaped tail. The bird was persecuted to the point of extinction by 1930 and the current population of 30 breeding pairs in the west of Scotland is thanks to a reintroduction project begun in the 1970’s. There is now a healthy population mostly on the isles of Rhum, Mull and Skye. The project, jointly run by Scotttish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the RSPB, involved the introduction of sea eagles from Norway, the protection of breeding sites and the tagging and monitoring of the birds and their offspring. Any sightings of sea eagles can be reported to the project by calling 01463 715000 or via http://www.rspb.org.uk. At the Aros centre just outside Portree you can see an exhibition (April – October) on the Sea Eagle with webcam footage from nests.

You could see Sea Eagles on any of the walks on Skye, Rhum or Mull. Identification can often be confirmed by the large coloured tags on the wings, the letter/number combination on the tag will be useful to the sea eagle project if you do report a sighting. They are less shy of humans than Golden Eagles and can frequently be seen in pairs during the breeding season. They often feed on carrion and if you are lucky enough to spot one after a good feed it may well hang around the same spot for a lengthy period while it digests its meal. Particularly good walks to spot Sea Eagles are Rubh an Dunain, Beinn Tianavaig and Macleod’s Maidens although you may also see them while walking or driving at almost any coastal location, even from the car parks at Broadford Bay or the Aros Centre.

As well as carrion, Sea Eagles eat a lot of fish, and also rabbits, hares and birds particularly fulmars. They will also steal prey caught by other birds and even otters.

The breeding sites are kept secret due to the threat from egg hunters and others. Sea eagles breed for the first time when they are 5 or 6 years old. They form life long bonds with their mate, although they will seek a new mate if one of the pair dies. They live for an average of 21 years with the oldest recorded bird being 26 years old. Sometimes you can hear the male’s loud and frequent calling during the breeding season. Sea Eagles put on an aerial courtship display which can involve the pair locking claws mid-air and undertaking a series of tumbling cartwheels before soaring upwards at the last minute. Both the male and female take part in building a large nest that they may use for many years. Eggs are laid in March and April with a six week incubation period in which the female does most of the sitting on the eggs. The male provides all the food for the first three weeks after the chicks hatch and then the male and female take turns to leave the nest to hunt. The chicks leave the nest at about 10 weeks old although they remain nearby and dependent on their parents for another 6 weeks. For more information on sea eagles and other birds on Skye visit http://www.skye-birds.com.

See our forum to record your sea eagle sightings, but ensure you do not give out information which could help illegal egg collectors.