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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Ruth Suter

First-ever footage of wild white-tailed eagle hatching chick in UK is recorded at Scots nature reserve

Visitors of a Scots nature reserve have enjoyed the first-ever live footage of a wild white-tailed eagle hatching in the UK.

Onlookers at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds' (RSPB) Abernethy centre watched on as the first egg hatched at 7.43pm on Friday, April 8.

The fluffy eaglet is the offspring of Shona and Finn, who have been working hard to share incubating duties, including protecting them from snow and recent storms.

Now, the family of birds' activities are being beamed live to the Loch Garten Nature Centre from a camera which has been hidden in a stick three metres from the nest to avoid any disturbance.

This is the first time such a method has been used in the UK (RSPB Scotland)

This is the first time such a method has been used in the UK after successful trials in Latvia and Estonia.

Fergus Cumberland, Visitor Experience Manager for RSPB Scotland: said, “The response to the eagles from the public has been one of excitement and anticipation.

"The true character and personalities of these birds are on full display for the public to experience and it is a wonder to watch it all unfold. Now to see that they’ve hatched their first chick is incredible.

"We feel so privileged to have been able to witness such a special moment.”

Also known as sea eagles, white-tailed eagles are the UK’s largest bird of prey with a wingspan of 2.5 metres.

They were driven to extinction in Scotland in 1918 before birds from Scandinavia were re-introduced to the Isle of Rum in 1975.

Re-introductions in other parts of the country means there are now populations spread as far as Fife, Orkney and the northwest Highlands.

The newly hatched chick is a descendant of these re-introduced birds.

Their father, Finn, is the great-grandson of the well-known Skye and Frisa pair of Mull Eagle Watch and BBC Springwatch fame.

Skye is the oldest known white-tailed eagle at 28-years-old and Frisa was the daughter of Blondie - the first eagle to successfully raise a chick in 1985 after the re-introduction.

Jess Tomes, Abernethy Site Manager for People at RSPB Scotland, said: “The next two weeks are critical for this young eagle as they are unable to regulate their own body temperature for the first few days and are totally dependent on their parents to shelter them from the worst of a Cairngorms spring.

"It’ll be a very tense time for all watching but we welcome everybody to visit us at the Nature Centre and experience these incredible moments!”

Visitors to RSPB Scotland’s Loch Garten Nature Centre can view the live feed daily throughout the spring and summer.

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