At last some good news! We have just had the results for the National Golden Eagle Survey 2015 from the RSPB and it is good news. Analyses of the survey results indicates that the population has increased by 15%, to 508 territorial pairs, Up from 442 in 2003.
All areas known to have held golden eagle “home ranges” in 2003 and also historical “home ranges”, where there is evidence that golden eagles have been present in the past, were surveyed. The sites were visited three time between January and July 2015 to establish if eagles were present and to see if there was any breeding success.
The largest increase in occupied home ranges was recorded was from west Perthshire to west Inverness-shire and also in Caithness and east Sutherland. Modest increases were recorded in Wester Ross and the Southern Uplands. There are some concerns over low levels of home range occupancy in Angus and the Eastern Cairngorms.
Lets hope that this increase will continue and eagles will spread back across the whole of the UK. New projects like the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project should go a long way to achieving this.