THINK of Scotland, think first of eagles. And now there are two kinds of this marvellous bird to be seen there. The golden eagle is the classic bird of Scotland, the glory of the Highlands. But since 1975 another great eagle has been winging its way around the West coast and the islands — the white-tailed sea eagle.

Golden eagles sail with their two-metre (6ft) wingspan over the mountains and moors of the northwest, but often one may not get no more than a glimpse of them far away.

The rugged Cairngorms are a good place to seek them out, though one needs to be a good walker, well-equipped with food and clothing. The boggy moors and forests of the National Nature Reserve at Inverpolly in Sutherland are another well-known haunt.

There are altogether about 400 pairs dotted about this part of Scotland. To see one — even on the horizon — when one is out walking makes one’s day.

White-tailed sea eagles are even larger than golden eagles, and one of the best places to see them is the Isle of Rum, where 82 young birds were released between 1975 and 1985. On Rum, provided the eagles nest in a suitable place, they can be watched in summer from an Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) hide, or seen at the nest through a webcam installation, near Loch Frisa.

Altogether there are now more than 20 pairs nesting on cliffs and in trees up and down the West coast. They eat gulls and hares, as well as trout and herring.

The high plateaux of the far North with their alpine-arctic habitat are also home to two fascinating wading birds that nest nowhere else in Britain. Dotterels are pretty little birds with a red chest that run about the moss, and can be very tame when found.

Long-legged greenshanks nest beside the pools and peat bogs. Also, black-and-white snow buntings sing their sweet songs and nest just below the summer snow-line.

Sutherland and the Outer Hebrides are the best places to go to if you want a chance of hearing the ghostly wailing of the red-throated and black-throated divers.

The red-throated, which are a little more numerous, nest beside the lochans, while the black-throated are rare breeders on islands in the lochs.

Another raptor that is one of the treasures of Scotland now is that magnificent fish-hawk, the osprey. This is more a bird of the lakes and forests, nesting high in old conifers. It is a bird that has been returned to Scotland. In 1959 a pair nested for the first time for many years at Loch Garten, Strathspey, and was carefully guarded by the RSPB. Since then, the population has risen to about 130 pairs.

The Osprey Centre at Loch Garten is the easiest place to watch them when they return in summer — there is a famous hide here. Nature trails around the centre should also produce crested tits and Scottish crossbills in the trees.

Game birds are a great Scottish tribe. Red grouse can be seen anywhere among the heather on the moors and mountainsides. In spring they shout “go-back, go-back” at you across the valleys.

Black grouse, which are much less common, are attracted by the bilberry moors that edge on the forests. Capercaillie, which are extraordinary turkey-like birds with tails that open in a fan, are woodland birds of eastern Scotland. They are extremely rare, but can be found as far east as the forests near Dundee. Ptarmigan, by contrast, are birds of the high mountain tops. They turn white in winter to blend with the snow.

Winter brings that other great tribe of birds — the wild geese. In the fields of southeast Scotland, enormous flocks of pink-footed geese spend the day feeding, going up with a great roar of voices and wings when they are disturbed, and roosting on lochs and estuaries. To see the beautiful little barnacle geese from Greenland, two good places to visit are the island of Islay, and Mersehead on the Solway Firth.

At both places there is an RSPB reserve. On Islay there is also a flock of choughs, little red-billed crows — besides many malt whisky distilleries.

There are many seabirds all round the Scottish coasts, including great gannetries on the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth and Ailsa Craig in the Firth of Clyde. Boats go out to both of them, from North Berwick and Girvan respectively. Long-tailed duck yodel from the sea in winter, and I have seen them from the top of a municipal bus going from Edinburgh to Musselburgh.

As for Shetland and Orkney, they are famous for their arctic and great skuas, and Shetland especially is renowned for its rare visitors from America or Siberia. When some rarity has been reported on Shetland, you are likely to see as many birdwatchers there as birds.

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