Citation
Abstract
Capsule
Breeding productivity of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos and White-tailed Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla in Scotland was markedly lower in 2022 than in previous years, consistent with an impact of the high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak in 2022 on breeding adults or their broods.
Aims
To compare 2022 breeding data for 12 species of raptor in Scotland with equivalent data from previous years, to assess whether there were changes in breeding success consistent with impacts of HPAI.
Methods
We compared levels of raptor breeding success in 2022 with the levels recorded during the previous four years.
Results
Declines in breeding success were consistent with the impacts of avian influenza on the productivity of Golden Eagles and White-tailed Eagles in 2022. For both species, these reductions were greatest in areas where breeding pairs had access to coastal and marine habitats. For other raptor species, the evidence pointed to more localized effects on the proportion of pairs successfully fledging offspring.
Conclusion
Other factors (e.g. weather) may have contributed to poor breeding performance in 2022. The evaluation of evidence for possible impacts of HPAI from Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme data should be repeated in future years to assess the extent to which the apparent effects of this disease in 2022 re-occur in eagles, or in other raptor populations. As well as posing a potential threat to some raptor populations, the presence of HPAI in raptors could serve as a useful indicator of the virus in their prey populations.
Staff author(s)
This study was funded by NatureScot (Scotland’s statutory nature conservation body).