£1.3m grant to boost golden eagle population

A project to boost south Scotland’s golden eagle population has won a £1.3 million grant.

The South of Scotland Golden Eagle project will use the Heritage Lottery Fund money to rear eagle chicks in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.

At present there are only two to four pairs of golden eagles in the south of Scotland, however a supporting project study has shown that there is suitable habitat for between ten and 16 breeding pairs.

In summer 2018 and for the next four years it is planned to bring between five and ten young eagles to the Borders to be reared and released when they will be satellite tagged.

The project is a partnership of RSPB Scotland, Scottish Land and Estates, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Buccleuch and the Langholm Initiative, who have been working together for more than ten years to bring this project to realisation.