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A trio of Highland golden eagles tagged with latest technology


By Gavin Musgrove

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One of the golden eagle chicks that has been tagged as part of the project. Photo: Dr Ewan Weston.
One of the golden eagle chicks that has been tagged as part of the project. Photo: Dr Ewan Weston.

Three golden eagle chicks have been successfully tagged using innovative technology to give a better insight into their lives.

Three estates – including two in Strathspey – are part of this latest raptor tagging initiative.

The birds’ movements are now being tracked in real-time by Cairngorms National Park Authority staff and partners with transmissions coming in daily.

The data provides a multitude of data that can help better understand the life of juvenile golden eagles.

An inbuilt alert system will report any deaths involving the three birds, whether through natural causes, persecution or other man-made influences.

The ‘Celltrack’ tags being used have come from the United States and are among the leading technology in raptor tagging.

They can detect unusual behaviour and send alerts with accurate locations.

The project has been developed and funded by the CNPA and NatureScot, previously Scottish Natural Heritage.

Dr Ewan Weston, an independent research ecologist, has been in charge of tagging the trio of golden eagle chicks under licence.

One of the chicks being tagged. Photo: Ewan Archer.
One of the chicks being tagged. Photo: Ewan Archer.

He commented: “Having been involved in fitting tags to eagles for 14 years, the technological advances in the tags we use now bring data that was previously unimaginable.

"The data we receive, feeds into wider research on the species and covers aspects of golden eagle biology and environment, providing an insight into aspects of their lives in incredible detail.

"This work has included aspects of their dispersal behaviour, interaction with the landscape and developments such as wind farms.”

‘Celltrack’ tags make use of an innovative dual communication system with data being sent over the mobile phone network as well as through a network of (ARGOS) satellites.

By using this hybrid communication system, the large quantity of location fixes acquired each day can be transmitted over the mobile phone network with the additional security of satellite communications when birds are out of signal.

Dr Pete Mayhew, the CNPA's director of nature and climate change, said: “The more we know about golden eagles in the Cairngorms National Park – from fledging through to acquiring their own territories – the better we can conserve and enhance their populations for the future.

"This is another excellent conservation partnership project involving government bodies and private estates who all wish to see a healthy future for our raptor species.”

The CNPA set out plans for a golden eagle tagging project in 2019, which included the use of British Trust for Ornithology-provided tags.

However, delays in production, technical issues and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has seen the project switch to using ‘Celltrack’ tags.

The CNPA has said it and partners will continue to work closely with BTO over the coming months, including sharing data from the three tagged golden eagle chicks.

Seafield & Strathspey Estates are one of the partners in the project and chief executive Will Anderson said: “We are very proud of our raptor populations here and as a result we are involved in several tagging projects.

"We are particularly pleased to be partnering with the Park Authority in this initiative as the type and volume of data collected is likely to be incredibly beneficial to be able to plan for the future with the birds needs in mind.”

The RSPB Scotland has also had one of their young golden eagles tagged as part of the project.

Fraser Cormack, RSPB Scotland Abernethy warden, said: “With raptors still being persecuted in Scotland the data that these tags provide could be crucial in helping to stop such crimes.

"Also with this potentially being a new territory it will be great to see the chicks movements after fledgling and where it disperses to in the future.”

Andy Turner, NatureScot Wildlife Crime officer, commented: “NatureScot is providing strong support to the CNPA on this project.

"This innovative technological development will strengthen our understanding of golden eagle movements, aiding both research and hopefully acting as a deterrent to illegal persecution.

"The ability for instant alerts and complex motion data will provide welcome new insights into the movements of these special birds.

"If this is successful, I hope we can deploy this technology more widely.”

Licenses to tag Golden Eagles are granted on behalf of NatureScot by the British Trust for Ornithology who look at various criteria especially animal welfare.

Tag data will be managed by a small, dedicated team at the CNPA and Dr Ewan Weston, NatureScot, and Police Scotland’s Wildlife Crime Unit.


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