The UK’s oldest known pair of white-tailed eagles have celebrated their 25th anniversary together by successfully fledging their 25th chick.
Skye and Frisa are 28 and 38 years old respectively and paired up in 1997 on the Isle of Mull. The following year, Frisa laid her first ever egg. Since then, they have continued to produce young, sometimes even raising two chicks a year.
In 2005, they enjoyed their television debut on the first ever episode of BBC’s Springwatch. Their chicks Mara and Breagha were also featured on the programme in 2008 as the first white-tailed eagles in the UK to be satellite tagged.
It’s not always been plain sailing for white-tailed eagles. They were driven to extinction in the early 20th century, but a series of reintroduction programmes were launched in 1975 to help re-establish the population. Frisa’s mother, Blondie, was the first eagle to successfully hatch a chick in Scotland following this project.
Skye and Frisa’s latest chick is thought to be a female.
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You can follow the pair’s adventures on @skyeandfrisa on Twitter.
Read Skye and Frith’s love story on the RSPB website.
Top image: Frisa (L) and Skye (R)/Credit Jim Manthorpe, BBC Winterwatch