Double act

In the beginning there was Pops, 722, 723, 727 and 726. Then Trevor, Glenda, Casper, Stoffel, Annette and Magnum joined the project. This season Lucy, Jax and Mrs Black came on board. These have all been one half of a resident Verreaux’s eagle pair that have been equipped with a high resolution GPS tag. Now we’ve just tagged our first ever pair. Katie and Bert. I’ve been watching them since 2011 and witnessed almost annual fledging of a chick. This year their chick has fledged already and I’ve been watching him practice his flying skills and tackle a few dodgy landings.

Verreaux’s eagles are usually seen as a pair and are thought to spend in excess of 90% of their time together. But how much time is it really? And what about during incubation? Who travels more? Are males and females at equal risk of wind turbine collision? These are a few of the questions I hope Katie and Bert will help us to answer.

The impressive foot of the male eagle "Bert"

"Katie" with her UVA-BiTS GPS tag

This female has a 2.1m wingspan