Golden Eagle Supplementary Feeding

The North Harris Trust has been awarded SRDP funding to provide supplementary food to Golden Eagles during the winter months.  North Harris is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) for Golden Eagles and hosts one of the highest breeding densities in Europe. Golden Eagles are a great asset to North Harris; they are an integral part of our ecosystem, an iconic ambassador for our wild land, and a great attraction to visitors.  Due to a significant decrease in the number of sheep on North Harris over the last few years, concerns have been raised about the availability of carrion through the winter. The SRDP funding will pay us for culling additional deer to provide supplementary food over a 5 year period. It is hoped that during this 5 year period numbers of hares and grouse will increase in response to reduced grazing pressure from sheep, giving golden eagles a more secure food supply for the future. Culling of some additional deer in the remote parts of the estate also complements our existing land management. Whilst our red deer herd is also an asset to the estate we manage the size of the herd in order to protect our fragile upland habitats from over grazing and trampling.