CONSERVATIONISTS and gamekeepers were once again at loggerheads this week, following the disappearance of a satellite-tagged whitetailed sea eagle in Perthshire.

The female fledged from a nest in Tentsmuir Forest, Fife, in July 2017, but the tag stopped transmitting last month in Glen Quaich, south of Aberfeldy.

RSPB Scotland’s head of species Duncan Orr-Ewing said: “This is the fourth satellite tagged eagle – three golden eagles and now one white-tailed eagle – to disappear in suspicious circumstances in this area since 2014.

“This location around Glen Quaich is dominated by driven grouse moor estates, and has been highlighted previously as a ‘black hole’ for wildlife crime against raptors.”

But gamekeepers have rejected the RSPB's implication of guilt, and joined the search for the lost bird in the hope of showing that it died of natural causes.

Thirteen Perthshire gamekeepers accompanied Police and RSPB officials in searching areas of moorland and woodland several kilometres west of Dunkeld in the hope of finding either the bird or the tag device.

Scottish Gamekeepers Association chairman Alex Hogg said: “The gamekeepers want the bird found, if it has perished. They are first to be accused when any bird of prey goes missing, or a tag stops, so these guys want to find the bird and assist the police in every way they can

“They have also pledged to search other areas in the vicinity and report to police. With some tags, there can be hours between one signal and the next so the location of the last bleep is only an indication of where the bird was. Eagles are capable of covering considerable distances in a short space of time. If anyone else has any information on this, they should contact Police Scotland.”