Broken-wing sea eagle returns to soar over Scotland's Mull coast

A male white-tailed eagle that broke its wing as a chick in a 2023 storm on the Isle of Mull has reappeared in the skies, its distinctive wing kink clearly visible. The bird, affectionately called Kinky, was nursed back to health by its two caring parents, who even missed a breeding season to look after it. After enduring its first winter on its own, the eagle was photographed soaring over Loch Spelve on the island’s south-east coast.

Dave Sexton, a retired RSPB officer with two decades of experience monitoring Mull’s eagles, described the sighting as “incredible” but noted that as a sub-adult the bird may be challenged by territorial adult pairs. The white-tailed eagle, once extinct in the UK, has been reestablished since a 1975 reintroduction program, with the species now breeding on Mull again.