Rare photograph of sea-eagles flying in unison above Kerrera

By Rita Campbell

December 16 2022, 6:00 am

This stunning shot of two while-tailed sea eagles flying in unison above the isle of Kerrera has been captured by a local photographer Ann Mcgregor. Image by @kerrera_lass

This stunning shot of two while-tailed sea eagles flying in unison above Kerrera has been captured by a local enthusiast.

Ann McGregor, who lives on the small island at the entrance to Oban Bay, enjoys photographing wildlife.

A similar shot captured by Ann of the same pair. Image: @kerrera_lass

The pair can be seen mirroring each others wings, behaviour which is rarely captured on camera.

David Sexton, RSPB Scotland’s Mull officer, said: “The adult pairs mate for life. They are loyal to each other and stay together all year round. When one flies, the other usually follows.

“At this time of year, in the clear, frosty and sunny days recently experienced on the west coast, early courtship behaviour can sometimes be triggered.

“This can involve calling and synchronized flights where one bird matches the others movements. But it’s rarely been captured so well in a photograph. The eagles will already be adding sticks to their favourite nest for 2023.”

Perfect conditions to catch them

Ann, who took the pictures on Sunday, regularly posts photographs on her Instagram page @kerrera_lass.

She said: “I see this pair regularly and it was perfect light conditions to catch them in flight as they cruised over the cliffs. They are incredibly tough survivors to cope with the extreme cold conditions we’ve had here recently.

“I suspect they’ve located a carcass on the hill or on the shoreline and that’s keeping them going. They’re great scavengers, especially at this time of year. That’ll be their Christmas dinner sorted.”

A group of 16 white-tailed sea eagles were spotted in one area on Mull. Of these, five were photographed together. Image: Wild About Mull tours

There are about 150 pairs of white-tailed eagles established in Scotland after they were reintroduced to the Isle of Rum starting in 1975.

This year some eagle pairs suffered from the new strain of bird flu which decimated many seabird colonies around Scotland.

A number of fully grown chicks on nearby Mull and up the west coast were found dead after feeding on infected seabirds like gulls and gannets.

Last year, a group of 16 sea eagles were spotted together on Mull. A local wildlife tour operator managed to capture five of them in the same photograph.

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