Golden eagle died after ‘wind turbine strike’, investigation finds

A aureate eagle has died aft a “wind turbine strike” successful Dumfries and Galloway, an probe has concluded.

The decease of the locally-fledged bird, named Sparky, is the archetypal recorded incidental of its benignant successful the southbound of Scotland, according to conservation assemblage South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP).

The group, which monitors and researches the aureate eagle colonisation successful the area, said they learned “something untoward” had happened to the three-year-old raptor connected the day of August 22 this twelvemonth from their outer tagging system.

They rapidly recovered the body, which was lying 15 metres from a turbine basal with its helping detached, and worked with unit astatine the upwind workplace to unafraid the assemblage for pathological investigations.

Our outer tagging strategy allowed america to instantly observe that thing untoward had happened to Sparky astatine Windy Rig upwind workplace successful Galloway

Dr Cat Barlow, South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project

After carrying retired a fig of tests, connected Monday the Veterinary Investigation Centre astatine Scotland’s Rural College successful Dumfries concluded Sparky’s fatal injuries were “typical of those associated with a upwind turbine strike”.

SSGEP task manager Dr Cat Barlow said: “Our outer tagging strategy allowed america to instantly observe that thing untoward had happened to Sparky astatine Windy Rig upwind workplace successful Galloway.

“This ensured investigators could rapidly retrieve the assemblage earlier upwind and chaotic scavengers destroyed immoderate evidence.

“Without our team’s surveillance and quality to respond promptly, we whitethorn ne'er person known what led to Sparky’s death.

“Gathering cognition from the outer tags is captious to ensuring the continued extortion of aureate eagles and further reinforces the value of our enactment to show aureate eagles successful confederate Scotland.”

She added: “Though sustainable vigor is cardinal to addressing the clime situation and protecting our earthy satellite successful the long-term, arsenic Sparky’s decease shows, decease done upwind turbine collision is simply a risk, truthful it is important that charities similar ours beryllium to enactment enactment to mitigate risks to aureate eagles – some astatine existing sites and erstwhile caller improvement proposals are being considered.

“We tin usage our unsocial insights to counsel decision-makers, truthful that developments bash not harm aureate eagles, habitats oregon their prey.

“Through our monitoring enactment and technology, we are uniquely placed to bash this successful the southbound of Scotland.”

Chris Rollie, seat of the Dumfries and Galloway Raptor Study Group – aft 1 of whose members Sparky was named – said they were “devastated” to larn of Sparky’s death.

He continued: “Evidence to day has suggested aureate eagles thin to debar upwind farms, but without the state-of-the-art outer tagging that SSGEP provides, incidents of this quality are hard to detect.

“This reinforces the urgent request for decision-makers to enactment intimately with the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project and our raptor survey radical arsenic further upwind farms are approved.”

Morag Watson, manager of onshore astatine Scottish Renewables, which represents the renewable vigor assemblage successful Scotland, said: “All upwind farms successful Scotland spell done years of biology monitoring earlier they are built and grounds to day has suggested aureate eagles thin to debar well-sited upwind farms, truthful it is incredibly bittersweet to perceive astir this incident.

“The renewable vigor manufacture works intimately with bodies including the Scottish Government, NatureScot, RSPB and others to amended recognize vertebrate behaviour and marque definite upwind developments are delicate to vertebrate populations.

“We look guardant to moving with the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project and utilising its expertise to let the onshore upwind assemblage to play an important relation successful the extortion of aureate eagles successful confederate Scotland.”

Sparky’s decease comes aft that of different eagle, named Thistle, which had been translocated by SSGEP successful August 2022.

Thistle was recovered to person been killed by different territorial eagle successful what the radical described arsenic “normal colonisation behaviour”.

Since it was acceptable up successful 2017, SSGEP has “translocated”, oregon introduced, much than 40 aureate eagles to the area, arsenic good arsenic tagging a fig of locally-fledged birds, and the colonisation is present astatine the highest level for 3 centuries.

The task had been owed to reason this year, but the group, which antecedently received nationalist backing from a fig of sources, present plans to proceed its enactment arsenic a standalone charity.