Pigeon shooting with a Sea Eagle

[flippermaj]

Went for my first summer foray for the pigeons this morning and was flighting a few along the shoreline not to far from the Cromarty Bridge on the Black Isle and what came and cruised along the tree line but a young Sea Eagle.  Well thats what it appears to be to me.

It spent about 3 mins just stationary in the strong breeze some 30 yards from me.  Took some photos and video with my very old phone so the quality isn't great but what a sight.

I have seen them a  fully grown on the wing in Skye but didn't realise there were any in this neck of the woods.

It is a Sea Eagle isn't it, had a white tail and was defo an Eagle if not a Sea Eagle?

On the pigeon front managed 7 in a very strong wind giving tricky flighting conditions.

[6.5x55SE]

Looks like one to me Mark 👍 Be honest your getting itchy feet and was checking out spots for early Pink's 😂

[51/50]

There's a pair of them in the area,i haven't seen them yet but i know others who have.

Edited August 20, 2022 by 51/50

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Blimey, be careful, don't get caught shooting anywhere near a newly released, re-introduced raptor!

[gmm243]

Had a peregrine knock a dead bird off a cradle on Thurs afternoon. By the time I got the phone out he was away.

Saw a sea Eagle once when shooting woodcock,came around the shore and there it was eating a coot.Three of us got to about 20m from it then it took off.Had a radio antenna attached to its back.

[51/50]

The local farmers are bracing themselves,they're fully aware of the havoc these birds have been wreaking on the western isles,they much prefer lamb to fish,the songbird population around the Cromarty Firth area has already been heavily impacted by the over population of Red Kites thanks to the RSPB's Red Kite reserve/feeding station at Tollie,these introduced Sea Eagles are only going to make matters worse,lets just hope the RSPB do not accidently poison these Sea Eagles with contaminated food then blame the local farmers for their deaths like they did with the Red Kites in 2014,this resulted in many farm houses & buildings being turned inside out by the police looking for poison,it caused a huge amount of trouble & stress for many people.

[marsh man]

16 minutes ago, 51/50 said:

The local farmers are bracing themselves,they're fully aware of the havoc these birds have been wreaking on the western isles,they much prefer lamb to fish,the songbird population around the Cromarty Firth area has already been heavily impacted by the over population of Red Kites thanks to the RSPB's Red Kite reserve/feeding station at Tollie,these introduced Sea Eagles are only going to make matters worse,lets just hope the RSPB do not accidently poison these Sea Eagles with contaminated food then blame the local farmers for their deaths like they did with the Red Kites in 2014,this resulted in many farm houses & buildings being turned inside out by the police looking for poison,it caused a huge amount of trouble & stress for many people.

I can see where your coming from 51/50 , what can be a wonderful sight for some can be a nightmare for others , we have got a few Red Kites around our way and at the moment they are welcome and don't do any harm , unlike the Otters that were brought back in Norfolk from nigh on extinction , now they recon there are Otters on every river in the U K that hold fish .

We have had reports of the odd Sea Eagle been seen along the East coast and more than likely they will become resident or regular visitors , still looking forward in seeing one .

[old'un]

47 minutes ago, 51/50 said:

The local farmers are bracing themselves,they're fully aware of the havoc these birds have been wreaking on the western isles,they much prefer lamb to fish,the songbird population around the Cromarty Firth area has already been heavily impacted by the over population of Red Kites thanks to the RSPB's Red Kite reserve/feeding station at Tollie,these introduced Sea Eagles are only going to make matters worse,lets just hope the RSPB do not accidently poison these Sea Eagles with contaminated food then blame the local farmers for their deaths like they did with the Red Kites in 2014,this resulted in many farm houses & buildings being turned inside out by the police looking for poison,it caused a huge amount of trouble & stress for many people.

Agree, especially with regards the Red Kites, those feeding stations putting out tons of meat a year are causing an unnatural balance.