Moved South as a Chick in 2018, a Scottish Eagle Now Has a Fledgling of Her Own

A young golden eagle named Beaky Junior has fledged, meaning he has left the nest and taken to the air, from a nest on a managed grouse moor in the southern uplands of Scotland.¹ The charity behind the effort, Restoring Upland Nature (Run), called it a “hugely significant milestone” when it was announced on October 30, 2026.¹

It matters for two reasons. According to Run, this is the first time a golden eagle chick has fledged from a new nest on a managed grouse moor in southern Scotland. That is a narrow first, not the region’s first eagle chick. And it comes from a population that was tiny and cut off from the Highlands as recently as 2017.¹⁴

From a handful of pairs to more than 50 birds

In 2017, southern Scotland had only two to four pairs of golden eagles, isolated from the larger Highland population, even though the hills had enough habitat for 10 to 16 pairs.⁴ The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project was set up to change that.

The plan was to collect single chicks from two-chick Highland broods and release them in southern Scotland, starting in the summer of 2018.⁴ Moving wild animals to a new area like this is called translocation.

Beaky Junior’s mother, Beaky, was one of the first chicks moved south in 2018.¹ She has now gone from new arrival to parent.

Run says the southern population has grown to more than 50 individual golden eagles, the highest number in the area for three centuries. Beaky Junior is one of five eagles to fledge in southern Scotland this year from the nests of birds the charity translocated.¹

“It is wonderful to see a golden eagle hatch, fledge and fly freely from the newly established nest of a translocated golden eagle that has made its home on a managed grouse moor in the southern uplands,” Dr Cat Barlow, Run’s chief executive, said in the Press Association report.¹

Barlow said the fledging shows that translocated eagles can blend into native populations and breed where there are healthy ecosystems, plenty of food and a low risk of interference.¹

Why the grouse moor part matters

The charity invited gamekeepers on an estate in the south of Scotland to name the chick, in recognition of their part in helping eagles do well there.¹ Other fledglings descended from translocated birds have had celebrity namers: Dame Judi Dench chose GoldenEye, and Sam Heughan chose Sassy.¹ The gamekeepers named him after his mother.

“Beaky Junior’s arrival serves as a powerful example of what can be achieved when land managers and conservationists unite behind a shared vision, grounded in trust and genuine partnership,” said Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of Scottish Land and Estates, in the report.¹

Mark Ewart, regional coordinator for the Southern Uplands Moorlands Group, said: “To encounter golden eagles daily is the ultimate indicator of the success of the project-gamekeeper partnership.”¹

The exact location of the nest has not been made public. The details so far come from the charity and its partners, relayed in a Press Association Scotland report.¹