Scroll down to view the most recent maps showing the movements of our young eagle
North Harris Satellite Tracking
9 week old eaglet at satellite tagging
In early July 2010 we fitted a satellite transmitter to a golden eagle chick at a North Harris nest site with the help of experts from Natural Research Ltd.
How Does The Satellite Tag Work?
The satellite tag is attached using straps that hold the tag in place like a back pack. The tag weighs around 100g, approximately 2% of the body weight of the eaglet so shouldn’t interfere with the eagles flight. Every day at 12 noon the tag records the location of the bird in the same way that a hand held GPS would and every 10 days the most recent 10 locations are transmitted to a satellite and this information is then relayed to Natural Research and then to us.
Why Are We Tagging Eagle Chicks?
Satellite tags can give us valuable information on exactly how eagles use the terrain and move about that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to find out . In the future this information will help inform decisions about the conservation of eagles. The information from our satellite tag will be part of a PHD project looking at the movements of several young eagles in different parts of Scotland
At the time of the tagging, the eagle chick was around 9 weeks of age, just a couple of weeks away from leaving its nest near Reinigeadal. Between fledging in late July and early January the tagged chick stayed close to its nest site only making short exploratory flights. During this period the youngster would have been mainly dependant on its parents for food whilst learning important hunting skill. Some young leave their parents territory as early as October but is not unusual for young to stay in their parents territory until February when they are probably kicked out by their parents who will then be preparing for the next breeding season.
Eagle Movements since 9th May
Eagle Movements 12th April – 9th May
Eagle Movements 2nd-11th April
Eagle Movements Mar 22nd – 1st April
Eagle Movements Mar 2011
Eagle Movements 31st Jan- 9th Feb
Eagle Movements 9th Jan – 30th Jan 2011
Our youngster left its territory between the 8th and 9th of Jan moving a short distance to the East across loch Seaforth. It then spent the next two weeks exploring the central area of the Pairc peninsula. During this time it would have passed through a number of other golden eagle territories. The Eisgein estate holds a large deer heard and the young eagle would probably have been feeding largely on deer carrion. During the harsh winter weather in January it would also have been important for the eagle to find sheltered roost sites on cliffs and crags with protection against the worst weather.
Loch Reasort
On the 27th Jan it moved west spending the last few days of January around Loch Reasort. This is one of the most remote areas of Scotland, a few km away from adult golden eagle breeding territories where a number of young golden eagles can often be seen.
The North Harris Trust would like to thank Natural Research and Haworth Conservation for funding this project.