Red Kite activist is honoured for his work
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A RED kite activist who helped to raise the alarm during 2014’s mass bird poisoning incident on the Black Isle has won a prestigious conservation award.
Professional bird watcher Brian Etheridge was up against another Highland hopeful, the River Moriston’s Pearls in Peril project – which attaches pearl mussel larvae to the gills of salmon – in the RSPB’s Nature of Scotland Awards.
The 70-year-old, who spent 29 years with the charity after retiring from the RAF, scooped the accolade at a ceremony hosted by Mike Dilger, ecologist and natural history presenter, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh.
"I’m just very honoured," he said. "I was very surprised to win.
"It was for the work I have done with birds of prey over the last 30 odd years and I have just had a wonderful time doing that."
Anne McCall, the director of RSPB Scotland, said Mr Etheridge should be extremely proud of the work that he has done for nature conservation.
And Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, who attended the awards, said the energy and enthusiasm of the nominees in all categories "really shone through".
Mr Etheridge lives in Avoch with his wife Rita.
The former aircraft engineer joined the RSPB after retiring from the services, fulfilling a life-long ambition to work in conservation.
His work between 1996 and last year involved monitoring the red kite population, climbing up to nests, tagging young, tracking nesting pairs and liaising with landowners.
Being shown the very first red kite nesting on the Rosehaugh Estate after they were reintroduced to the Highlands was among his many highlights.
"It was the very first one to breed in the Highlands for 100 years," he said.
"That was right at the beginning of the red kite re-introduction. I felt very privileged."
Harsh times were lying ahead, however, and Mr Etheridge had an unenviable ringside seat for the mass poisoning of 16 red kites on the Black Isle in 2014.
In total 22 birds of prey were found dead near Conon Bridge in the space of just a few days, six of which were buzzards.
The huge death toll sparked anger amongst conservationists and led to a protest on the streets of Inverness.
But, despite intense interest in the matter and nationwide publicity, no-one was ever charged in connection with the incident.
"That was the worst time," he said. "I just felt that all my efforts over the previous years were almost in an instant reduced to rubble."
On the positive side, he said there was now more pressure on the Scottish government to make changes to ensure that there is greater protection for the country’s wildlife.
Competing in the same category was the River Moriston’s Pearls in Peril project led by Iain Sime from SNH’s eco-systems and biodiversity unit and partnered by the Ness and Beauly Fisheries Trust.
Scientists used a technique to enable pearl mussel larvae to attach to fish gills, replicating their natural life cycle in the wild.
The larvae later dropped off where they settled onto the river bed.
Given the right conditions, these juveniles could survive into adulthood – boosting the population.
The work was carried out after it was found that few mussels were left in the river’s upper reaches.
