![]() In essence, eagle survival is poor and so occupied territories are thin on the ground because eagles are probably being killed by humans, and most of this persecution probably has basis in the management of grouse moor. The explanation must be because in these parts of the Highlands eagles are not surviving as long as elsewhere.ĭetailed analyses have considered many possible reasons for this poor survival in the central and eastern Highlands and the overriding explanation, from many strands of evidence, is that it is due to illegal persecution of eagles and this persecution is concentrated in areas managed for driven grouse shoots. The continued presence of numerous vacant territories cannot be explained by a shortage of fledged young eagles. Neither expectation has been apparent or realised according to national survey and SRSG observational efforts. On this basis, there should be many potential recruits to fill the large number of unoccupied territories, and the eastern and central Highlands of Scotland should be full of territorial golden eagles or, at least, the trend should be that an increasing number of vacant territories are being filled. Those territories that are occupied, however, are some of the most productive in Scotland, and so for many years have routinely produced many young eagles. In the Western Isles numbers have been expanding for several years.īy contrast, across large swathes of the central and eastern Highlands many historical territories have remained unoccupied for many years. In the west, densities can be relatively high and most potential territories are occupied, and breeding productivity can be good, although in parts there is probably a shortage of live prey and few young are produced, which may be due to a history of overly extractive land use. There are marked differences in the abundance of territorial pairs across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and in the species’ conservation status across regions. Scotland is fortunate in having over 400 pairs of golden eagles and many experienced, skilled and enthusiastic fieldworkers dedicated to their study.
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