RSPB Scotland has today issued an appeal for information following the disappearance of a satellite tagged golden eagle near Strathdon in Aberdeenshire. The young male eagle was fitted with a transmitter by a licensed raptor study group member, before it fledged from a nest in Deeside in the summer of 2016. Data received from the tag allowed conservationists to study the movements of the bird, known as “338”, as it explored north-east Scotland’s countryside. As with most young eagles, the bird spent the first few weeks after fledging in the area around its nest, before moving further away as it…

Mountaineers have called on Highland Council to reject a bid to site a phone mast right next to the road down Glen Etive, one of Scotland’s most famed and beautiful glens. Telecomms company EE has sought permission to site a 10m-high phone mast and ancillary structures at the roadside in the glen, at a prominent corner near the southern end of Buachaille Etive Mor. Mountaineering Scotland has objected to the planning application, arguing that the mast – and two others being considered for the glen – would be visually intrusive in a landscape that has featured in tourism publicity and…

The John Muir Trust has expressed concern over today’s decision by Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse to consent the application for the Creag Riabhach wind farm at Altnaharra estate near Lairg in Sutherland. The development will mean the construction of 22 turbines, up to 125 metres high – roughly the height of Scotland’s tallest structure, the Glasgow Tower – in north west Sutherland. Five of the turbines will fall within the boundary of Wild Land Area 37 (Foinaven-Ben Hee). Stuart Brooks, Chief Executive of the John Muir Trust said: “Naturally, we are very disappointed and concerned. This is the first such…