AN ABERDEENSHIRE estate implicated in the ‘disappearance’ of several golden eagles by the RSPB has mounted a fierce defence of its conservation credentials – including recent video footage claimed to be an eagle that the bird charity insists has gone missing.

In a press release issued last Friday, the RSPB claimed that a satellite-tagged golden eagle known only as ‘338’ had disappeared on North Glenbuchat Estate, Strathdon, in early March – and noted that satellite tags on eagles had previously failed on the estate’s land.

But the estate has since hit back at the RSPB’s ‘defamatory’ approach to publicising the facts of the matter, and released both photos and video footage purporting to show the supposedly lost bird still safely flying in the skies of Glenbuchat – evidence that has also been submitted to Police Scotland.

However, as The Scottish Farmer went to press, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We can’t give anything definite on this at this stage but it is possible that the estate have footage of a different eagle. This is still to be clarified so I can’t confirm anything at this stage or give you any comment.”

The new footage has been submitted to Police Scotland. Along with further video footage of a golden eagle taken two days earlier on the estate.

Director of North Glenbuchat Estate, Laura Sorrentino, said: “The RSPB allegations against the estate have been reckless and defamatory and the matter is now in the hands of our lawyers. RSPB seems to accuse first and think later without caring about the damage it does.

“Our head keeper filmed what he believed was the ‘missing’ eagle last Thursday and further footage was filmed on Saturday afternoon and photographs were taken on Saturday evening,” said Ms Sorrentino. “Because of the light and distance between the bird and the keeper we cannot be as certain that the Saturday afternoon footage is the same eagle, but the head keeper is more confident that the later photographs could be the 338-tagged bird.

“We may well have been able to assist RSPB further with its investigation into why the satellite tag on 338 stopped working, but its representatives were hooded and kept their faces covered when they visited the estate with police last Wednesday,” she reported.

“We found this extraordinary as there has been no allegation of wrongdoing or criminality by the police. The estate has been actively looking for the eagle since it was made aware that the satellite tag had ceased transmitting.

“We are a small estate surrounded by other sporting estates,” she added. “We firmly believe the issue of satellite tags needs very close examination as there is evidence of them developing faults. Only last month a hen harrier, Highlander, which RSPB suggested had been killed illegally in England, was spotted alive and well.”

RSPB Scotland spokesman James Reynolds told The Scottish Farmer that it was standing by its assertion that the eagle was missing: “No information has been produced that contradicts the fact that bird 338 has disappeared, with its last known location on the North Glenbuchat Estate.

“That golden eagles can be seen and filmed on the estate is not unexpected at all. We know from satellite tagging that the area is visited regularly by young wandering birds which may linger in the area and then move on,” said Mr Reynolds. “In fact at least two other satellite tagged birds are known to have been present in the area over the last few weeks, according to tracking data.”

RSPB Scotland’s head of investigations Ian Thomson added: “As soon as we became aware of 338’s disappearance, we notified Police Scotland, who concurred that the circumstances were suspicious.

“These tags are very reliable and the sudden cessation of transmissions strongly suggests the bird has died. Had the bird succumbed to natural causes, we would expect to continue to receive data and be able to locate and recover the body of the eagle with ease.”