Nest Location: Glenfeshie Estate
BTO Ring Number: Unknown
Satellite Radio Number: Unknown
Sex: Female
Measurements: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
General
In July 2007 we fitted a GPS radio transmitter on a golden eagle chick at Glenfeshie Estate in the Cairngorms National Park as part of a conservation project to try to examine the cultural behaviour of eagles and to research the home-range use of the Cairngorms and surrounding mountains by a young eagle bred in the area. It was a young female and she was named Alma by Glenfeshie Estate.
Using high quality GPS data collected at hourly intervals we followed her for nearly two years and learned huge amounts about her first years of life. This was the first time a high quality GPS radio was used successfully to track an eagle in Scotland, and our website showing the daily travels of Alma was enthusiastically received.
Annual Movements
Alma had fledged by 3rd August but remained near the eyrie until the end of the month. In September she moved to the southern part of Glenfeshie Estate and towards the end of the month began to make longer flights away to Drumochter. She ranged between Glenfeshie, Drumochter and Perthshire for the next couple of months and at the end of November moved to the Ladder Hills, where she remained for the rest of the year.
In early 2008 Alma ranged around the eastern Cairngorms, visiting north Perthshire and the Ladder Hills. She continued to moved back and forth between mountains surrounding the east, south and west Cairngorms over the next few months and spent a lot of time around Glenlivet Estate. At the end of March she moved to the Cromdale Hills for the first time and then began to range more widely. In April she visited Moray and, later in the month, made her first forays into Coignafearn Estate, an excellent area for young golden eagles. Other areas visited included Loch Ness and Wester Ross. She was based around the Ladder Hills for most of the summer and ranged throughout the same areas for the rest of the year.
In the first part of 2009 she ranged between the Ladder Hills and Deeside, spending a lot of time on Glentanar Estate. In April she settled down on the extreme edge of golden eagle range in Aberdeenshire, around Glen Dye and Glen Esk – presumably an area where she was not threatened by adult eagles. She remained here throughout the early summer but then on 13th July we received disastrous news; that she had been found poisoned.
TRAGICALLY, ALMA WAS ILLEGALLY POISONED IN JULY 2009 – SEE ALMA 2009 FOR DETAILS
To view details of Alma’s movements click on the relevant link:
Alma 2009 | Alma 2008 | Alma 2007
Reproductive History
Alma did not reach breeding age during our studies.