Gamekeepers on a managed grouse moor in southern Scotland have named a golden eagle chick in recognition of their part in a conservation project’s success. Restoring Upland Nature’s (RUN) chief executive, Dr Cat Barlow, highlighted landowners’ and gamekeepers’ contribution to translocations, continued monitoring and the protection of eagles and their nests.
“Indeed their support has been absolutely vital to our success in restoring the population of golden eagles to record numbers,” she said.
Beaky Junior, whose name was announced on 30 October, fledged from a newly established nest belonging to eagles moved south through the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project. According to the charity behind the project, RUN, it is the first successful fledging from such a nest on a managed grouse moor in the region.
His mother, Beaky, was among the first chicks translocated from the Highlands in 2018. His father, Skan, followed in 2019. The keepers chose the youngster’s name in tribute to his mother, while keeping their own identities private to protect the nest’s location.
Across the project, estates have supplied donor chicks, provided nesting opportunities and helped monitor birds. The Moorland Association reports that 19 of the 28 chicks translocated since 2018 came from private Highland and island estates. At Burncastle Estate, two artificial eyries were built in 2023 to support the recovery effort.
Beaky Junior is one of five golden eagle chicks to fledge in southern Scotland this year. For the people involved, successful breeding is a particularly rewarding result after years spent helping establish the birds. In 2020, his mother became the first of the project’s translocated eagles to cross the border into England, travelling around 90 miles south to the Pennines.
For moorland communities, this is a welcome example of conservationists and gamekeepers working together on the same ground. RUN will continue monitoring the eagles with support from land managers, farmers and keepers, the people most familiar with the land, who are well placed to notice their movements and help protect their future.