Our Golden Eagle wildlife photography will not be available this year, Colin McClean, Wildlife Manager, explains why:
"After four years of photography at the eagle’s nest we have decided to give the birds a rest in 2017. They have done us proud and deserve a wee break. During the last four years they have successfully fledged seven chicks which makes the nest one of the most productive in Scotland. There are no obvious signs that the eagles are seriously disturbed by our photographic operation.
Adults are not constantly in attendance at the nest at the stage of the breeding cycle when we permit photography and the timing of adult visits is unpredictable. There were quite a few photographic sessions last year when adults did not appear but during the last few sessions both adults sat together on the nest. It is not possible to know how an eagle feels but giving them a year off can do no harm.
We saw the male eagle in Glen Allachy this week so hopefully the female is now on eggs. We never try to find the nest until late April so we don’t currently know the state of play. We have a licence to position a hide so that the eagles continue to see a structure in the vicinity of the nest. However we will not use it in 2017. The plan is to re-start photography in 2018. We apologise if this causes disappointment in 2017 but I’m sure our clients will understand our reasoning. We hope to offer other species including ospreys and other raptors should they breed here this year."
Despite the Golden Eagles having a well-deserved rest this year we still have plenty more wildlife photography opportunities available on the Estate that may be of interest to you.