Tag: white-tailed eagle

Golden Eagle dies of natural causes – gamekeepers seem to want credit for not killing it

I received a bizarre press release on Monday, issued by the charity, Restoring Upland Nature (RUN – a project developed from the South Scotland Golden Eagle Project).

The press release was providing ‘news’ of a young satellite-tagged Golden Eagle named Percy, who had suffered fatal injuries after a dispute with a territorial pair of Golden Eagles in south Scotland in late March 2026.

Golden Eagle Percy. Photo by John Wright

His death was due to natural causes, so not exactly ‘news’, although it’s understandable that the project team would want to keep people informed.

However, the press release then morphed in to some kind of gamekeeper love-fest, simply because some gamekeepers had found the critically injured eagle and had alerted the project team to his location.

Here’s the press release:

Whilst the actions of those gamekeepers who found Percy are to be applauded, the subsequent general portrayal of gamekeepers in south Scotland as being champions of eagle conservation needs a reality check, especially when you consider the recent surge in eagle persecution in this region:

  • Golden Eagle ‘Merrick’ was shot and killed whilst she was sleeping in a tree next to a grouse moor in the Moorfoot Hills in October 2023 (see here).
  • Golden Eagles ‘Tarras’ and ‘Wren’ disappeared in an area managed for gamebird shooting near Langholm in August 2025 (see here).
  • A White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ in the Moorfoot Hills area in November 2025 (here).
  • Golden Eagle ‘Hamlet’ was found with shotgun injuries next to a grouse moor in the Tweed Valley in February 2026 (here).

It is clear from the post-mortem and his satellite tag data that Percy died from injuries inflicted by a territorial eagle and not at the hands of a gamekeeper. Perhaps that’s the newsworthy element of this story.

But I’m very interested in other cases where injured/dead raptors have been ‘found’ by gamekeepers and reported to the authorities, especially in areas with a long history of raptor persecution. It seems to me that this could create a perfect opportunity for the ‘false hero’ scenario.

Undoubtedly, there are decent gamekeepers out there who want to help with conservation efforts for raptors and other species. But equally undoubtedly, there are gamekeepers out there who want to kill raptors, and have done, and continue to do so.

How do you tell them apart?

By the way, in response to the ‘news’ that Percy died of natural causes, I’ve seen a few comments on social media suggesting that we should all apologise for blaming gamekeepers for his ‘disappearance’. For the record, Percy didn’t ‘disappear’, and I haven’t seen anybody suggesting that he did, or that gamekeepers were responsible. They used the same argument about Hen Harrier ‘Frank’ earlier this year – trying to play the victim card but without any evidence of being victimised.

Satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ on Snilesworth Estate, North York Moors National Park

Further to the news earlier this week that a young satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle (known as G834) had ‘disappeared’ on 1st May in what the police describe as suspicious circumstances, on a grouse-shooting estate in the North York Moors National Park (see here), one of five satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagles to have vanished in recent months (here), it has now been revealed that his last known location was on the Snilesworth Estate.

This news didn’t come from the appeal for information issued by North Yorkshire Police last Monday – that vague appeal just gave the location as, ‘the western side of the North York Moors‘. Instead, the information has come from a lengthy feature article in this morning’s Guardian newspaper, written by Chief Reporter Daniel Boffey.

Photos by Ruth Tingay

Daniel Boffey visited the estate this week and was given short shrift by gamekeeper Charles Woof, who, when asked about the missing eagle, reportedly said:

“I don’t know anything about it” and “It’s private property, I am going to have to ask you to leave“.

The article refers to Woof’s 2008 conviction, where he admitted to using a baited trap to catch birds of prey. That’s interesting. I thought the shooting industry claimed to have a zero tolerance policy to raptor persecution and that anyone convicted would be kicked out of the profession? Apparently not.

Mark Thomas, Head of the RSPB’s Investigations Team is also quoted in the article, having been asked for his opinion about what might have happened to White-tailed Eagle G834:

“I think something has happened in the middle of the night whilst this eagle was at roost. Now, these things don’t fly around in the dark. They will wait till first light.

“If you’re asking me to look at the probability … it’s most likely the bird has been shot. And if the bird is shot whilst it’s roosting, then it’s being shot at night, potentially with thermal imaging gear“.

The article also reports that ‘Snilesworth estate management declined to comment‘. I don’t know who manages the estate these days but for many years it was managed by ‘grouse guru’ Mark Osborne’s company, starting in 2000, according to an earlier version of the company’s website:

One of Osborne’s other companies, William Powell Sporting, currently sells shooting days (Grouse, Pheasant & Red-legged Partridge) at Snilesworth:

Here is a review from one happy Snilesworth customer, featured on a William Powell Sporting publicity brochure:

Photo by Ruth Tingay

The Guardian article is careful to emphasise that there is nothing to suggest that gamekeeper Mr Woof or his team may have been involved in the eagle’s disappearance. Boffey writes:

‘The range of possible suspects is huge, including local farmers and others connected to nearby grouse lands, of which there are many‘.

The article also mentions that on the day the Guardian reporter visited, Mr Woof was ‘busy preparing for a charity clay pigeon shoot‘.

That’ll be this one, happening today, organised by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).

Hopefully the charity shoot guests won’t be causing any disturbance to the local wildlife as they shoot their way around the six clay pigeon stands across the estate and they can keep an eye out for the missing eagle…

More news on the satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle that ‘disappeared’ on a grouse shooting estate in the North York Moors National Park

On Monday the news broke that a young satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle had ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances on a grouse shooting estate in the North York Moors National Park (see here).

I was critical of the vague appeal for information issued by North Yorkshire Police and said I would write more about the details that hadn’t been included in that appeal.

However, since then, there has been a new development. I can’t explain any further at the moment but all will become apparent in due course. For this reason, I’ve decided not to add any of the missing details, at least not just yet. If the new development doesn’t progress as I expect it to, then I will come back to this news story.

Meanwhile, it’s worth talking about G834, the eagle at the centre of the police investigation, and placing his suspicious disappearance in to wider context.

White-tailed Eagle G834, prior to fledging, after being ringed and fitted with its satellite tag (photo by Tim Mackrill, Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation)

G834 hatched in Dorset in 2025, the first wild-fledged White-tailed Eagle in that county for over 240 years (see here).

His parents first paired up in 2023 after being released in 2020 as part of the Isle of Wight Reintroduction Project, led by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England.

G834 was the product of their first successful breeding attempt, and brought the number of wild-fledged WTEs in England up to six since the project began (one chick in Sussex in 2023, two chicks in Sussex in 2024, and two chicks in Sussex and one chick in Dorset in 2025).

He was the star of the show at Poole Harbour at the beginning of this year, where 30 young members of the Young Birders’ Club, an initiative set up by the brilliant charity, Birds of Poole Harbour, were able to watch him feeding in the harbour. The significance of this sighting was summed up by Birds of Poole Harbour Project organiser, Sam Ryde:

“This was such an important and historical moment. To be able to show a group of young conservationists a wild born White-tailed Eagle right here in Dorset is beyond special. Not only that, to be able to explain to them how these projects work, why it’s important and actually show them the outcome is what it’s all about. These reintroduction projects change the baseline for what’s considered ‘normal’ in these landscapes. For many people here in Dorset and Poole Harbour White-tailed Eagles are a new-comer due to the fate they suffered all those years ago. However, kids will now grow up in Dorset with White-tailed Eagles having always been a part of their local heritage, which they’ll want to continue to protect and conserve”.

Three months later, G834 made the fatal mistake of visiting a grouse moor in the North York Moors National Park where, only a few hours after arriving, his satellite tag stopped transmitting whilst he was roosting nearby overnight and he hasn’t been seen since.

The circumstances remind me of the fate of the young Golden Eagle called Merrick, believed to have been shot, killed and removed overnight from a roost site in the Moorfoot Hills, south Scotland, in October 2023.

G834 is the fifth satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle to have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances in the last year. Here are the others:

  • In May 2025, a young satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Nairnshire, Scotland (see here).
  • On 13 September 2025, the satellite tag belonging to White-tailed Eagle G615 was found on remote moorland in mid-Wales. Dyfed Powys Police stated the tag had been removed with a sharp instrument before being hidden in an attempt to dispose of it. Searches in the area to try and locate the body of the bird have so far been unsuccessful (see here).
  • On 26 September 2025, a satellite tag belonging to young White-tailed Eagle G842 was recovered from the River Rother, near Petersfield, Sussex. It had been removed from the bird using a sharp instrument. Searches in the area to try and locate the body of the bird have so far been unsuccessful (see here).
  • On 8 November 2025, a four-year-old satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle (G819) ‘disappeared’ in the Moorfoot Hills, south Scotland (see here).

I mentioned earlier that in 2025, three young White-tailed Eagles fledged in the wild (two in Sussex and one in Dorset). Two of those three birds are now ‘missing’ – one (G842) had its tag cut off that was subsequently thrown into a river, and the other one’s tag (G834) has stopped transmitting in suspicious circumstances and the bird hasn’t been seen since.

Two out of three. That’s disgraceful.

And given how long these birds take to mature before they’re old enough to breed (anywhere between 3-7 yrs), and how low their productivity is when they do breed (1-3 chicks per year), it’s no wonder that the project team is planning to release more eagles this year, on both the Isle of Wight and on Exmoor. Given the natural attrition rate (e.g. disease, accidental collision etc), and then illegal persecution on top of that, this population is going to need the release of many more eagles before it becomes sustainable.

UPDATE 6 June 2026: Satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ on Snilesworth Estate, North York Moors National Park (here)

Young White-tailed Eagle ‘disappears’ from grouse shooting estate in North York Moors National Park

Press statement from North Yorkshire Police (1st June 2026):

INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY AFTER DISAPPEARANCE OF EAGLE

We are appealing for information after the disappearance of a white-tailed eagle.

The satellite-tagged juvenile white-tailed eagle (G834) was born in the wild in Dorset in 2025 and travelled widely across England this spring. On 30 April 2026, it arrived in the western side of the North York Moors.

Overnight into 1 May, the tag device did not communicate. There have been no further transmissions since then.

Following analysis by the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the eagle’s disappearance is being treated as suspicious, and an investigation is underway by North Yorkshire Police.

Anyone with any information is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference 12260086274.

ENDS

Young White-tailed Eagle (not the one that’s vanished). Photo by Pete Walkden

This press statement from North Yorkshire Police couldn’t be more vague.

Given the location, and the details of this young eagle’s final hours (as revealed by its satellite tag), there’s an awful lot of information that’s missing from this appeal.

I’ll be writing more about it shortly…

UPDATE 3 June 2026: More news on the satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle that ‘disappeared’ on a grouse shooting estate in the North York Moors National Park (here)

UPDATE 6 June 2026: Satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ on Snilesworth Estate, North York Moors National Park (here)

Statement from Natural England on decision to licence release of White-tailed Eagles in Exmoor National Park

Following the news that White-tailed Eagles will be released in Exmoor National Park later this year (see here), Natural England has published a blog to outline its ‘role in assessing the licensing application, how potential risks, including concerns from the farming sector, were carefully considered, and why Exmoor has been chosen as the next release site‘.

White-tailed Eagle. Photo by Pete Walkden

Natural England’s blog can be found on its website (here), but is reproduced below in case it ‘disappears’. I’ll add some commentary underneath it.

SUPPORTING THE RETURN OF WHITE-TAILED EAGLES TO EXMOOR

Natural England blog written by Roxanne Gardiner, Senior Officer, Natural England Wildlife Licensing Service and Olivia Beatty, Higher Officer, Wessex Area Team.

Natural England has issued a licence enabling the next phase of white-tailed eagle reintroductions in southern England, permitting the release of up to 20 birds in Exmoor National Park over three years. In this blog, Senior Officer Roxanne Gardiner and Higher Officer Olivia Beatty explain Natural England’s role in assessing the application, how potential risks, including concerns from the farming sector, were carefully considered, and why Exmoor has been chosen as the next release site.

Natural England has joined Forestry England, the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Exmoor National Park Authority in announcing the exciting next steps in reintroducing white‑tailed eagles to southern England.

Natural England has issued the licence that enables this next phase of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation- and Forestry England led project to move forward.  The licence permits the release of up to 20 white‑tailed eagles in Exmoor National Park over three years, and sits alongside the existing licence for the successful Isle of Wight project, which has resulted in the first breeding white tailed eagles in England for 240 years.

White‑tailed eagles are our largest native bird of prey. Once widespread throughout England’s coasts and wetlands, they were lost due to human persecution. Their return in recent years is a powerful symbol of nature recovery that has captured the public imagination; and shown how ambitious but well‑planned conservation projects can help restore nature.

As top predators and scavengers, white tailed eagles help to balance the ecology of our landscapes, regulating prey populations, recycling nutrients and driving higher biodiversity. By harassing and controlling intermediate predators like buzzards and magpies, they also help protect smaller birds and mammals from over-predation. On the Isle of Wight, there is already evidence that more lapwing chicks are fledging as a result.

The selection of Exmoor as a new release site reflects the wider shared ambitions that Natural England and Exmoor National Park Authority have long been working towards – a landscape where nature is recovering at scale. Detailed feasibility studies have been led by the Project and historical records confirm that white‑tailed eagles once bred along the Exmoor coastline.

Tracking data from birds released on the Isle of Wight shows that several have already visited the Exmoor area. Exmoor’s mix of coastal, woodland and wetland habitats provide excellent conditions for the species as it continues to re‑establish in southern England.

Natural England’s role in enabling responsible reintroductions

Natural England’s role in this project is as the statutory wildlife licensing authority. Our responsibility is to assess applications for conservation translocations carefully and transparently, ensuring they meet the high standards set out in Defra’s Reintroductions and other conservation translocations: code and guidance for England.

Staff from Natural England’s Wildlife Licensing Service led the detailed, evidence‑led assessment of the application submitted by the Project. The assessment considered the contribution of the project nationally to white‑tailed eagle recovery.  We also considered:

  • The likely success of the project in terms of white-tailed eagle recovery
  • Experience of the project partners
  • Governance and long‑term funding arrangements
  • Disease and biosecurity risks
  • Ecological risks and opportunities
  • Socio‑economic risks and opportunities including the potential to affect farm businesses
  • Monitoring and management proposals

Natural England’s Wessex Area Team played a leading role in assessing the potential impacts of the Project on protected sites and led the Habitats Regulations Assessment. This work was done in collaboration with Natural England’s Chief Scientist Directorate, bringing together local knowledge and national scientific expertise.  They focused on how the released eagles are most likely to use the landscape.

Evidence shows that young birds may spend several years exploring areas across the UK and into northern Europe, but when they settle and establish breeding territories it is usually within 60km of the release site.  Basing the assessment on this well‑understood behaviour, the team was able to look carefully at realistic ways the released birds might interact with nearby protected sites and key species within those sites in the years following release.

We are aware that some stakeholders have raised concerns about the project, especially around livestock predation. Our team have joined meetings with farming sector representatives and read the local consultation responses. These concerns have been fully considered by both the project and Natural England. We understand that there are genuine fears but have also reflected on evidence from six years of monitoring the 45 birds released by the Isle of Wight project, and their offspring, which shows no recorded feeding on lambs or other livestock. These birds have only been observed to take natural prey, preferring fish and coastal birds, which is in line with comparable areas in Europe.

The project management plan and licence conditions include some key measures that we are confident should mitigate the concerns that have been raised:

  • There will be a project steering group that includes farming sector representatives.
  • There is a commitment to long‑term monitoring of the eagles’ activities, both through GPS tracking and through activity reporting forms.
  • The licence duration is for 11 years, by which time released birds will hopefully have settled and begun breeding.
  • There will be a communications plan and project officer, with the aim of raising awareness, supporting monitoring, and ensuring that emerging concerns are investigated and, where appropriate, addressed.
  • The project partners have shared a letter of commitment with farming sector representatives and the wider steering group, setting out that they will continue monitoring and engagement beyond the 11-year licence period.

In assessing the project, Natural England has taken a balanced and evidence‑led approach, applying the principles of the Code and Guidance in a way that supports ambition for nature recovery, while remaining proportionate, transparent and impartial, and consistent with our statutory duties. We hope this gives confidence that risks have been carefully considered and appropriately managed.

A flagship project for nature recovery

This project forms part of a wider effort to support the recovery of white‑tailed eagles across England, alongside projects and proposals in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Natural England continues to work closely with other regulators to share learning and promote best practice for responsible species reintroductions.

We are pleased to support this next phase of a landmark conservation programme and look forward to continuing to work with the project team as releases begin this summer. 

ENDS

My commentary:

Natural England’s decision to approve the licence application to release up to 20 White-tailed Eagles into Exmoor National Park over the next three years was always going to be an easy decision, to be honest.

The eagles are already there, albeit in small numbers, as can be seen in this map showing the widespread dispersal of 45 young satellite-tracked WTEs that have been released on the Isle of Wight since 2019 (map dated to January 2024, copyright Dr Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation):

It would be quite difficult, then, for Natural England to refuse the licence application, as the releases will simply be bolstering and speeding up the spread of the eagles into the south-west, their former, historical breeding range.

And every time I read anything from Natural England, or Defra, or the Government, about the ‘careful consideration of species conservation releases and their potential impacts’ I can’t help but laugh at the hypocrisy. Over 60 million non-native gamebirds (Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges) are released in to the UK countryside every year, for shooting, and nobody bats an eyelid (unless forced to after a successful legal challenge by Wild Justice).

Anyway… Natural England acknowledges the inevitable ‘concerns’ raised about the release of 20 White-tailed Eagles (note, twenty, not 60 million!) Those concerns are from the usual suspects, as shown quite neatly in this graphic produced in a briefing note in September 2025 by The Exmoor Society, a charity that undertook an ‘evidence review’ into species reintroduction programmes in Exmoor National Park, specifically focusing on the Pine Marten and the White-tailed Eagle:

I find it hard to comprehend how ‘threats to gamebirds’ and ‘livestock predation’ should ever be taken seriously when considering the restoration of native species to what is supposed to be a National Park. Regressive doesn’t even begin to describe it.

You can read the charity’s evidence review here:

Exmoor Society-Species-Reintroduction-Report Sept2025Download

Natural England’s blog focuses on addressing the concerns of the farming sector, whose representatives are predicting some kind of lamb-aggedon, but interestingly, there’s little, actually, no mention in Natural England’s blog of the perceived ‘threat’ to (non-native) gamebirds.

Some of you may remember nine years ago when Natural England and Defra were pushing the ridiculous notion of reintroducing Hen Harriers to southern England (a tactic many of us argued was simply a distraction technique to take the focus off the widespread illegal killing of this species on grouse moors in the north).

Exmoor National Park was identified as a potentially suitable location to release Hen Harriers, but Exmoor is infested with gamebird shoots and members of the gamebird shooting industry there were dead set against the release of Hen Harriers, because:

“The fears raised were that a reintroduction would lead to increased scrutiny of their legal activities and if the project was unsuccessful the shoots would be blamed” (see here).

As a result, Exmoor National Park was quietly dropped as a potential release location.

If those Exmoor gamebird shoots were fearful of Hen Harriers being released, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be thrilled at the prospect of White-tailed Eagles…

White-tailed Eagles to be released in Exmoor National Park this year

Press release from Forestry England and Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation (13 May 2026):

BOOST TO LANDMARK CONSERVATION PROJECT RETURNING WHITE-TAILED EAGLES TO ENGLAND

  • Additional releases to take place this summer in Exmoor National Park
  • Conservation project is returning iconic birds to the south of England

The return of Britain’s largest bird of prey, white-tailed eagles, to the South of England is to be boosted this year following approval today by Natural England, the Government’s wildlife licensing authority, for more of these iconic birds to be released.

White-tailed Eagle. Photo by Ronnie Gilbert

White-tailed eagles have a wingspan of up to 2.5 metres and were once widespread across England. Human persecution caused their extinction, with the last pair breeding in southern England in 1780.

The reintroduction project, led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, will add to its existing programme of releases on the Isle of Wight which began in 2019 by working with Exmoor National Park Authority to release up to 20 young eagles from this additional location over the course of three years. Releases will take place at both locations this summer.

The additional releases will help to boost the number of birds already in the wild and expand their breeding range into South West England. Exmoor was chosen as an additional location after tracking data from the released birds showed the area had been frequently visited by several of them and provided suitable habitat. It is known that the species formerly bred along the Exmoor coastline.

To date, 45 young white-tailed eagles have been released from the project’s base on the Isle of Wight. Four pairs of birds have bonded and successfully formed territories along the south coast. The first pair to successfully breed did so in 2023, fledging the first chick to be born in the wild in England for over 240 years. Since then, a further 5 chicks have been born in the wild.

Also known as sea eagles, the species is typically found along coastlines and large bodies of open water.

Roy Dennis OBE, Founder of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, said:

“White-tailed eagles were once a common sight in England but were lost centuries ago. This project is reversing that situation, and I am delighted that we will be able to release additional birds this year and boost their numbers in the wild.

“It is exciting to be able to play a part in restoring these birds back to their former home, and to see how well they are fitting into the English landscape. We will continue to work closely with a range of organisations as we enter this next phase of this exciting project“.

Stephen Egerton-Read, White-Tailed Eagle Project Manager, at Forestry England, said:

“Returning lost species like the white-tailed eagle is a key part of restoring biodiversity and supporting nature recovery.

“Seven years on from the start of this project these birds have begun to successfully return to the English landscape – forming pairs, establishing territories and breeding.

“Adding additional releases at Exmoor will help to boost their numbers and continue their spread across southern England. We hope that in years to come these iconic birds will become a much more common sight“.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said:

“The return of white‑tailed eagles to Exmoor is a powerful example of this government’s commitment to reversing the decline of nature and protecting it for generations to come.

“As part of our new ‘Wild Again’ campaign, we are investing £90 million into species recovery, marking the largest ever government investment to directly support threatened wildlife“.

Natural England National Delivery Director Matthew Heard said:

“Bringing white‑tailed eagles back to this part of the country is a hugely exciting step in restoring England’s natural landscapes. This licence supports a carefully planned reintroduction, grounded in strong evidence and built on collaboration with local communities and land managers.

“This moment has been a long time in the planning and shows what can be achieved when ambitious partnerships, good science and positive engagement come together“.

Ali Hawkins, Senior Ecologist with Exmoor National Park Authority, said:

“Exmoor, with its long expanse of coastal woodland, provides some amazing habitat for White-tailed Eagles, otherwise known as Sea Eagles. Their reintroduction to the National Park is an exciting next step in delivering more for nature recovery and we’d like to thank everyone connected to the project.

“We are committed to continuing to work with farmers and other stakeholders, to support them in adapting to this species fledging on Exmoor once again. We hope that people will be lucky enough to see one of these incredible birds in the coming years“.

The reintroduction of white-tailed eagles is conducted under licence from Natural England. Birds for release are collected from wild nests in Scotland under licence from NatureScot.

All of the released birds are fitted with satellite tags so that the project team can track their location and study their progress.

Reintroducing white-tailed eagles is a priority in the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, and the latest licence announcement follows the Environment Secretary committing £90 million of funding for species recovery across England and exploring the reintroduction of golden eagles.

Implementation of the licence will be closely monitored by Natural England.

ENDS

UPDATE 18.30hrs: Statement from Natural England on decision to licence release of White-tailed Eagles in Exmoor National Park (here)

Golden Eagle found shot in Scottish Borders – Police Scotland appeals for information

Press release from Police Scotland (9 February 2026)

APPEAL AFTER GOLDEN EAGLE SHOT IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERS

Wildlife officers are appealing to the public for information after a four-year-old golden eagle was shot in the Scottish Borders.

Golden Eagle photo by Pete Walkden

On Tuesday, 20 January, 2026, police were made aware a gamekeeper from an estate in Stanhope had discovered an injured golden eagle on Thursday, 15 January, 2026.

The bird was wearing a satellite tracking device and was identified as Hamlet, a four-year-old golden eagle that had been relocated from the Outer Hebrides to the Scottish Borders in 2023.

Hamlet was examined by a vet, who confirmed shotgun pellet injuries to his wing. He received treatment and made a full recovery. Hamlet has since been returned to the wild.

X-ray showing shotgun damage to the eagle’s right wing. Photo by SSPCA via Police Scotland

Officers investigating the crime have reviewed Hamlet’s tracking data and following consultation with raptor and veterinary experts, it’s believed Hamlet was shot during the first week of January 2026 in an area between Stanhope and Glenbreck, off the A701 Broughton to Moffat Road.

Detective Sergeant David Lynn, National Wildlife Crime Coordinator, said: “It is extremely disappointing that we are investigating another golden eagle persecution crime. Very few people would have the means, opportunity and motive to commit this crime and I would urge anyone with any information to contact us so we can identify whoever is responsible for shooting Hamlet.”

Police Scotland, with the support of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, is conducting a thorough enquiry in the local area to identify the culprit. Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 1221 of 3 February, 2026. Alternatively, you can pass on your information anonymously to Crimestoppers using 800 555 111.

ENDS

‘Hamlet’ is the sixth victim of eagle persecution in the Scottish Borders in recent years:

Golden Eagle ‘Fred’ disappeared in an area managed for gamebird shooting in the Pentland Hills in January 2018 (his satellite tag transmitted from the North Sea a few days later – here).

Golden Eagle ‘Merrick’ was shot whilst she was sleeping in a tree next to a grouse moor in the Moorfoot Hills in October 2023 (we’re STILL waiting for NatureScot to make a decision about whether a General Licence restriction will be imposed as a consequence – see here).

Golden Eagles ‘Tarras’ and ‘Wren’ disappeared in an area managed for gamebird shooting near Langholm in August 2025 (see here).

A White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ in the Moorfoot Hills area in November 2025 (here).

All six of these eagles were satellite-tagged. Nobody has been prosecuted in relation to any of these incidents.

Fourth White-tailed Eagle ‘disappears’ & RSPB offers £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction

Following the appalling news over the last couple of days about the highly suspicious, and almost certainly criminal, disappearance of three satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagles here, here and here, there has, as usual, been complete silence from the land management sector, with the exception of Scottish Land & Estates, who commented that, “land managers in Moorfoots have been helping police with the search and will continue to provide whatever help they can as the investigation progresses“.

As for the other shooting organisations, who so often claim to have a zero tolerance stance against raptor persecution, there’s been no comment and no condemnation. Nix. Nada.

As a reminder, all of those organisations (except the Moorland Association, whose CEO was booted off for spreading misinformation) are members of the police-led Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG) – a so-called ‘partnership’ whose function includes ‘awareness raising‘ and ‘raising the profile [of illegal raptor persecution] via media exposure‘. Not a single word.

In contrast, the often very reserved RSPB has not only expressed its disgust, but it has put its money where its mouth is and is offering a reward of £10,000 for information leading to a conviction of those involved. This is welcome news for all of us who have not only enjoyed seeing these birds occupying their rightful place in UK skies, but also for those of us who are sick to the back teeth of the relentless killing of protected birds of prey across our countryside.

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden

However, it turns out that it hasn’t just been the three White-tailed Eagles from the England re-introduction project that have disappeared in recent months. The bottom of the RSPB article, linked above, reveals some new information:

‘Further to the suspicious disappearance of these three White-tailed Eagles, a fourth bird, fledged from a nest in Perthshire in 2024, disappeared on a grouse moor in Nairnshire in May this year. A police search took place but neither bird nor tag were found.

This was the latest of nine tagged birds of prey, including two other White-tailed Eagles, whose tags were functioning as expected, to suddenly disappear in the northern Monadhlaith area of Inverness-shire and Nairnshire since 2018. These disappearances have occurred in an area where multiple confirmed incidents of poisoning, shooting and illegal trap use have been recorded’.

FFS.

I can’t see why it’s taken seven months for this news to emerge, but it doesn’t make it any less appalling.

As the RSPB article suggests, this area of Inverness-shire and Nairnshire is horrific for bird of prey killings and for the suspicious disappearances of tagged raptors.

This latest White-tailed Eagle to vanish is the third in the area since 2019 (e.g. see here), adding to a long history of tagged Golden Eagle disappearances here dating back 15 years (and leading to the Scottish Government commissioning its review of the fates of satellite-tagged Golden Eagles back in 2016).

Numerous other incidents have been uncovered in this same area in recent years, close to the NW boundary of the Cairngorms National Park. These have included the shooting of a Sparrowhawk on Moy Estate (for which a gamekeeper was later convicted, here), the discovery of a poisoned Red Kite in the Moy area, here, and the discovery of a shot Red Kite on Lochindorb Estate, here.

Needless to say, the vast majority of those incidents, including the disappearance of the White-tailed Eagle in May, were on grouse moors.

Perhaps the local wildlife criminals were emboldened by NatureScot’s watering-down of the new grouse shoot licence last autumn?

At least that issue appears to have been sorted by a Government amendment to close the loophole, which recently passed Stage 2 of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill…but I’ll write about that in another blog.

For now, we have four missing White-tailed Eagles (all vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting, whether that be lowland Pheasant & Partridge shooting or upland Grouse shooting), two missing Golden Eagles (also vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting), and I’ve lost count of the number of missing Hen Harriers, also vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting.

I’ll be updating the Hen Harrier Missing/Dead List over the Xmas period when I’ll have some time…there are still some more to add to the 143 Hen Harriers we already know about.

More detail about the missing White-tailed Eagle in mid-Wales

Further to the news on Thursday (here) that three White-tailed Eagles have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, one in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland, Dyfed-Powys Police has issued a separate public appeal for information which includes a bit more detail about the Welsh case.

I’ve added some commentary below the police press release.

Dyfed-Powys Press Release:

Dyfed-Powys Police are appealing for information regarding the suspicious disappearance of a satellite tagged white-tailed eagle in the Newtown area of mid Wales.

Dyfed-Powys Police and the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) are jointly investigating the disappearance of a white-tailed eagle and the theft and disposal of its satellite tag and harness.

The satellite tag has been recovered from remote moorland in this area and shows that it has been removed from the bird with a sharp instrument, most likely a knife, before being hidden in an attempt to dispose of it.  

Searches in the area to try and locate the body of the bird have so far been unsuccessful.

Police are appealing for anyone who was in the following areas at the specified times to contact police.

  • Between 11am and 1pm on Saturday 13th September 2025 at or around the Gwgia Reservoir, Tregynon (W3W///visa.hoped.assess)
  • Between midday and 3pm on Saturday 13th September 2025 on access land near Bryn y Fawnog (W3W///portfolio.newsprint.eyelash)

Dyfed-Powys Police can be contacted either online by emailing 101@dyfed-powys.police.uk, or by calling 101, quoting police Ref. 25000766626.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.

All potential lines of enquiry, including detailed forensics such as DNA and fingerprints, are being pursued. Dyfed-Powys Police and NWCU are working closely with the tag owners, the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England, to analyse the data, and progress this investigation.

ENDS

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden

My commentary:

This isn’t the first raptor persecution incident in this pheasant-shooting area.

In April 2020, a member of the public found the corpses of two Red Kites, which she thought was suspicious. She photographed them and posted the images on social media, intending to return the next day.

Wildlife TV presenter Iolo Williams saw the post and headed out to the location that evening. The two bodies had ‘disappeared’ but Iolo found the body of a third Red Kite, which was later x-rayed and found to contain shotgun pellets (see here).

A police investigation was launched but didn’t result in anyone being charged or prosecuted.

This area was also in the news in November 2018 when the League Against Cruel Sports revealed that 57,000 Pheasants had been released over a five-year period at Gregynog Hall, owned at the time by the University of Wales, with shooting reportedly leased to Bettws Hall Estates. The League launched a campaign to stop gamebird shooting on the estate.

In response, a spokesperson for the University of Wales told BBC News, “The University of Wales has received the correspondence from the League Against Cruel Sports regarding this matter, and is currently in the process of reviewing the structure and arrangements for Gregynog Hall” (see here).

The shooting lease for 2019 was not renewed whilst the review was undertaken (see here).

However, my research suggests that a Pheasant-shooting lease is still in operation, no longer run by Bettws Hall Estates, but apparently by the Ian Coley Sporting Agency, whose website lists the shoot as “beautiful valleys teeming with pheasants and partridge“.

However, according to a Trustees report (2022) of The Gregynog Trust, the new landowners, shooting leases have been terminated.

There’s no suggestion that anyone connected with the shoot was involved with the disappearance of the young White-tailed Eagle at Gwgia Reservoir (part of the Gregynog Estate) or the removal of his satellite tag, probably with a sharp knife, before a crude attempt to hide it on a nearby hillside, and I’m sure they’ll have been keen to assist the police with its investigation.

Since 2019, Gregynog Hall and estate has been run by a charitable trust (The Gregynog Trust) and I’m sure the Trustees are appalled that this young White-tailed Eagle was apparently targeted on its estate.

UPDATE 16.00hrs: I’ve received communication from a representative of The Gregynog Trust who says the incident is not on their land, and “We do not condone or allow any form of hunting or blood sports on our estate, this is not negotiable“. This information conflicts with the published information I’ve found during my research, but until I can clarify that, please do not contact The Gregynog Trust about this incident.

More detail on the ‘missing’ White-tailed Eagle in south Scotland

Further to the news yesterday (here) that three White-tailed Eagles have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, one in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland, Police Scotland has issued a separate public appeal for information which includes a bit more detail about the Scottish case:

Police Scotland are appealing for information after a satellite-tagged white-tailed eagle disappeared in the vicinity of the Moorfoot hills.

The bird was four years old and had been translocated as a chick from Scotland to the Isle of White as part of a licenced reintroduction programme run by the Roy Dennis Foundation.

In March 2025 the bird flew back to Scotland and held a territory in the Moorfoot Hills spending most of its time in the hills between Peebles and Heriot.

In early November it expanded its range and spent the majority of its time on the lower ground to the North of the Moorfoots by Gladhouse Reservoir but after four days its satellite tag then suddenly stopped working in circumstances that give rise to suspicion.

A full search of the area where the tag last transmitted and the areas it had been frequenting has been carried out by Police Scotland Wildlife Crime officers accompanied by colleagues from the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit and a bird ecology expert however neither the bird nor the satellite tag have been recovered.

Police Constable Ali Whitby, Wildlife Crime Officer for the Lothian and Scottish Borders division said:

“This is a huge iconic bird of prey that chose to fly hundreds of miles north and settle in the Moorfoot Hills. Being so big its presence was known to people working and living in the area and it thrived for 8 months; the fact it has now gone missing in suspicious circumstances is extremely disappointing.

“I would urge anyone with any information that may assist to contact us.”

Anyone with any information should call 101, quoting reference number PS-20251215-1347. Alternatively, please contact Crimestoppers though 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.

ENDS

White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden