In a heart-warming tale of survival against all odds, the first ever sea eagle chick to be successfully fostered in Scotland has been spotted alive and well, flying over the Isle of Rum - more than two years after she first flew the nest.

Named 'Dalta' (Gaelic for 'foster child') by primary schoolchildren in Broadford, Skye, she was orphaned as a chick when she was just eight days old after the adult male of the sea eagle pair (her father) had been found dead in Lochaber - a victim of illegal poisoning. Because sea eagle chicks usually need the care of both parents to stand a chance of survival, under exceptional circumstances, Dalta was taken into care.

Undersized because of her traumatic start in life, a rollercoaster ride for the weak young bird followed. She was housed temporarily at first in a cardboard box before being placed with two different sets of sea eagle foster parents in Skye. Despite her tough start in life, she gradually regained strength and to the delight of wildlife enthusiasts, successfully flew the nest in August 2002. The survival of this chick to fledging was a massive achievement but, as for all young, independent birds of prey, surviving their first winter is their most difficult hurdle.

Ever since the young eagle fledged, question marks have hung over Dalta's fate - until now. When the report came through from Rum of two sea eagles flying strongly together with the wing tag information that identified one of the pair as Dalta, celebrations began.

Alison MacLennan, RSPB officer for Skye and Lochalsh, said:

"Everyone who has been involved with Dalta is overjoyed to hear that she has been spotted. It is quite incredible that even though sea eagles are our biggest bird of prey in Scotland, they can disappear for such a length of time and then turn up out-of-the blue like this. We really had feared the worst for Dalta and it's great news that she is still with us and flying well. We are so grateful to Alison Donald who lives on Rum who reported the sighting. It's thanks to people like her that we can keep track of our fragile population of sea eagles and monitor how well they are re-establishing themselves in Scotland."

Sea eagles (also known as white-tailed eagles) were driven to extinction in Scotland by 1916, following several centuries of shooting, trapping and poisoning. In 1975, a re-introduction programme was begun which has gradually seen sea eagles re-establish some of their former range in the north west Highlands and Islands. There are now 32 pairs of breeding sea eagles in Scotland, which this year reared 19 sea eagle chicks.

Alison MacLennan added:

"We are always keen to hear from people who see sea eagles. The important information is when and where they are seen, their age if possible, and if you manage to read their wing tags, that's especially helpful in identifying the individual bird. Reporting sightings of sea eagles to your local RSPB office is extremely worthwhile as it really helps the sea eagle project team overseeing the re-establishment of the population in Scotland to keep track of how they are doing."

For more information:

• RSPB