A healthy golden eagle chick has been moved from its home in Perthshire to the south of Scotland in an effort to repopulate the area.
The male eaglet was collected from his cliffside nest at a grouse moor in the Strathbraan Estate by a group of experienced climbers last month.
He will now be taken to a purpose-built aviary in the south of Scotland, where staff will feed him and prepare him for release.
The six-and-a-half week-old chick is one of six collected by South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP) during the 2022 breeding season.
He will be tagged before being released into the wild in August.
A video was also produced by the organisation showing the eaglet’s retrieval.
Golden eagle populations in south Scotland still facing challenges
While efforts to repopulate the iconic bird species have been successful in Scotland as a whole, numbers in the south continue to lag behind.
Prior to the launch of the new breeding project in 2018, the number of golden eagles in Dumfries and Galloway stood at just three breeding pairs.
In June two chicks were taken from another successful nest in Perthshire before being checked over by a team of vets from Edinburgh University.
One of the chicks was returned to its nest while another was also taken to the south of Scotland.
The exact location of the aviary has not been disclosed in case they are targeted.
According to the SSGEP, both chicks that have been relocated are getting on well.
SSGEP ‘very grateful’ for Strathbraan golden eagle chick
The relocation efforts have been assisted by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association and Tayside and Central Scotland Moorland Group, which the Strathbraan Estate is part of.
Dr Cat Barlow, SSGEP Project Manager, said: “We are very grateful to the donor estate and the team who aided in the safe collection of the eagle chick.
“This eagle chick from Strathbraan will soon become part of a growing population in Southern Scotland.”
Alex Hogg, MBE, Chairman of The Scottish Gamekeepers Association, said: “It is really pleasing to see our members getting involved in these collaborations.
“I also understand gamekeepers and farmers are also playing a key role, down in the release area in the Borders, because their land management is providing a food source to help the eagles.”
Conversation