TV's sea eagle Itchy found on west coast

Following an appeal by RSPB Scotland, one of the sea eagle’s made famous by an early series of Springwatch as been found living and breeding on the west coast of Scotland.

Itchy featured as a chick alongside brother Scratchy, in the BBC Two programme filmed in 2005 on the Isle of Mull. Both birds were tagged and they fledged successfully in July 2005. Since then there have only been occasional sightings including one on the north end of Skye in 2007.

However since the appeal, Itchy, has been found breeding with an untagged adult female in an undisclosed west coast location.

Dave Sexton, RSPB Scotland’s Mull officer, told the BBC: “This is the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for. A local boatman alerted us to Itchy’s secret west coast location after spotting a wing-tagged white-tailed eagle.

“I’m thrilled and relieved to know that he is doing so well and is now a dad himself. He and his mystery mate have successfully raised one chick and the hope is that they will now continue contributing to Scotland’s growing white-tailed eagle population.

“Meanwhile, the search for his brother Scratchy continues and we would urge anyone who spots an adult white-tailed eagle with an ‘S’ on a red wing-tag to give us a call.”

Mull remains one of the best places to spot sea eagles in Scotland, although the Isle of Skye and the Applecross peninsula also provide regular sightings. You can search for free walks in these locations on the Walkhighlands website, click on the Find a Walk feature to search for wildlife walks.