Golden eagle killed by wind turbine strike on Scottish territory 

Conservation group the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP), which tagged and tracked Sparky, said the bird’s cause of death is the first of its kind to be recorded in the south of Scotland.

The region is home to more than a fifth of the country’s existing onshore wind capacity, a South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) study found.

The charity said the death showed wind turbine collision was a risk to the golden eagle’s conservation status, and that it was important for existing and new developers to work with the body to mitigate harm to the protected birds.

SSGEP’s close surveillance of eagles led to the prompt discovery of the three-year-old male, which had fledged a nest in Galloway on the afternoon of Friday, August 22.

Sparky was found 15m from a turbine base at Windy Rig Windfarm, next door to Galloway Forest Park, with his wing detached. SSGEP said the windfarm company personnel worked closely and efficiently with the project team to secure the body for pathological investigations.

An investigation found the bird was killed by a wind turbine strike
An investigation found the bird was killed by a wind turbine strike | SSGEP

Windy Rig, owned by Greencoat UK Wind PLC, sits on Moorbrock Estate and has 12 turbines that have been operational since 2022.

The finding led to renewed calls for urgent funding and support to help the SSGEP to continue its monitoring and research projects to help with the better understanding of and conservation of golden eagles.

The push comes as the project team was also instrumental in supporting another recent investigation, which found a sub-adult male golden eagle called Thistle had been killed by a territorial eagle, as is a natural occurrence in the wild.

In September, the conservation group said it needed to raise £400,000 to secure its long-term future and it was facing the “imminent threat” of being wound down. It has now, however, developed bold new plans and will become a stand-alone charity named RUN (Restoring Upland Nature) in 2025.

Dr Cat Barlow, project manager of the SSGEP, said: “Without our team’s surveillance and ability to respond promptly, we may never have known what led to Sparky’s death. Gathering knowledge from the satellite tags is vital to ensuring the continued protection of golden eagles, and further reinforces the importance of our work to monitor golden eagles in southern Scotland.

“The need for our new charity, RUN, is more important than ever. As a new stand-alone charity, we can continue to provide a strong voice for golden eagles and other threatened species when it matters most to ensure that nature and humans can thrive alongside each other.

“Though sustainable energy is key to addressing the climate crisis and protecting our natural world in the long term, as Sparky’s death shows, death through wind turbine collision is a risk, so it is important that charities like ours exist to support work to mitigate risks to golden eagles – both at existing sites and when new development proposals are being considered.

“We can use our unique insights to advise decision makers, so that developments do not harm golden eagles, habitats or their prey. Through our monitoring work and technology, we are uniquely placed to do this in the south of Scotland.

“However, support from funders and the public is absolutely crucial to allowing our work to continue.”

Sparky was named by Dumfries & Galloway Raptor Study Group, after one of their long-standing members, Charlie Park MBE. Speaking as the cause of death was confirmed, group chairman Chris Rollie said: “We are devastated to learn of Sparky’s death.

“Evidence to date has suggested golden eagles tend to avoid wind farms, but without the state-of-the-art satellite tagging that the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project provides, incidents of this nature are hard to detect.

“This reinforces the urgent need for decision makers to work closely with the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project and our Raptor Study Group as further wind farms are approved.”

Morag Watson, director of Onshore at Scottish Renewables, said: “All wind farms in Scotland go through years of environmental monitoring before they are built and evidence to date has suggested golden eagles tend to avoid well-sited wind farms, so it is incredibly sad to hear about this incident.

“The renewable energy industry works closely with bodies including the Scottish Government, NatureScot, RSPB and others to better understand bird behaviour and make sure wind developments are sensitive to bird populations.

“We look forward to working with the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project and utilising its expertise to allow the onshore wind sector to play an important role in the protection of golden eagles in southern Scotland.”