Robin Reid

Robin is a passionate conservation ecologist with 22 years of experience working in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. He started work as a Field Ornithologist for the RSPB on species surveys including for the Scottish White-tailed Eagle Re-introduction Project. In 2003 Robin also started working as a Consultant Ecologist and Ornithological Researcher building expertise in upland bird ecology. For ten years between 2012 and 2021 Robin led the RSPB's work on the Outer Hebrides delivering several ambitious projects including the Shiant Isles Seabird Recovery Recovery Project.

Robin has also held roles as a Conservation Ranger for the North Harris Community Estate and a Conservation Advisor for the Woodland Trust. In recent years he has focused on raptor research and conservation, a field in which he is now regarded a Scottish expert. Robin has collaborated on many peer reviewed publications and contributes to a range of research and conservation projects including as a member of the Scientific Advisory Panel for the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project and as a member of the Project Team for the English White-tailed Eagle Re-introduction. Current research projects include satellite telemetry studies of golden eagle, white-tailed eagle and hen harrier, and hen harrier dietary studies using remote nest cameras.

Through his varied roles, Robin has gained a broad range of skills in ecological surveys and research as well as in project management and land management. Robin is based on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides where he lives on a croft with his wife Anna and two children Rowan and Fergus.

Publications

Evans, R.J., Pearce-Higgins, J., Whitfield, D.P., Grant, J.R., MacLennan, A. &Reid, R. 2010. Comparative nest habitat characteristics of sympatric White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla and Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in western Scotland. Bird Study, 57: 4, 473-482.

Evans, R., Reid, R., Whitfield, P. 2013. Pre-First World War Persistence of a Golden Eagle Population in the Outer Hebrides. Scottish Birds, 33:1, 34-36.

Fielding, A.H., Anderson, D., Barlow, C., Benn, S., Reid, R., Tingay, R., Weston, E.D. Whitfield, D.D. (2024). Golden Eagle Populations, Movements, and Landscape Barriers: Insights from Scotland. Diversity 2024, 16, 195.

Fielding, A.H., Anderson, D., Benn, S., Reid, R., Tingay, R., Weston, E.D, Whitfield, D.P. 2023. Substantial Variation in Prospecting Behaviours of Young Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos Defies Expectations from Potential Predictors. Diversity 2023, Vol. 15, Issue 4, 506.

Grant, J.R., Reid, R. & Whitfield, D.P. 2011. Clearing nests of food remains does not influence subsequent nest choice in White-tailed Eagles. Scottish Birds, 31:4, 308-310.

Haworth, P.F., Fielding, A.H., and Reid, R. 2010. Numbers, distribution and productivity of key raptors breeding in Benbecula, Barra and Uists in 2005-2009. SNH CONTRACT NUMBER 26711.

Haworth, P.F.,Fielding, A.H., Whitfield, D.P. &Reid, R. 2009. Diet and breeding success in golden eagles: implications for land management. SNH CONTRACT NUMBER 23748

Main, C.E., Churchyard, T., Bell, E., Floyd,K., Tayton,J., Ibbotson,J., Whittington, W., Taylor,P.R., Reid, R., Varnham,K., Bambini, L., Douse,A., Nicolson,T., Campbell,G. 2019. Scaling down (cliffs) to meet the challenge. The Shiants black rat eradication. The third Island Invasives Conference 2017. Dundee, Scotland.

Murgatroyd, M., Roos, S., Evans, R., Sanson, A., Whitfield, D.P., Sexton, D., Reid, R., Grant, J. & Amar, A. 2018. Sex-specific patterns of reproductive senescence in a long lived raptor. Journal of Animal Ecology.

Reid, R., Grant, J.R., Broad, R.A., Carss, M. & Marquiss, M. (2023). The breeding season diet of White-tailed Eagles in Scotland. Scottish Birds 2023, 43:4.

Reid, R., Haworth , P.F., Fielding, A.H., Whitfield, D.P. 2019. Spatial distribution of undulating flight displays of territorial Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos in Lewis, Scotland. Bird Study.

Reid, R. 2011. Harris Wildlife; A guide to where and when to view the Wildlife of Harris. The North Harris Trust.

Reid, R. 2008. Golden eagle diet and breeding success on the Western Isles, Scotland. Undergraduate Thesis, Lund University, Sweden.

Whitfield, D.P., Fielding, A.H., Anderson, D. Benn, S.,Reid, R., Tingay, R., Weston, E. 2024. Sex difference in natal dispersal distances of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in Scotland. Ibis,166, 146-155.

Whitfield, D.P., Douse,A., Evans, R.J., Grant, J., Love, J., McLeod, D.R.A., Reid, R. & Wilson, J.D. 2009. Natal and breeding dispersal in a reintroduced population of White-tailed Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla. Bird Study,56:2,177-186.

Whitefield, D.P., Duffy, K.,McLeod, D.R.A., Evans R.J., MacLennan, A.M., Reid, R., Wilson, J.D., & Douse, A. 2009. Juvenile dispersal of white-tailed eagles in Western Scotland. Journal of Raptor Research 43(2): 110-120.

Whitfield, D.P., Fielding, A.H., Anderson, D., Benn, S., Reid, R., Tingay, R., Weston. E. 2023. Sex differences in natal dispersal distances of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in Scotland. Ibis.

Whitfield, D.P., Marquiss, M., Reid, R., Grant, J., Tingay, R. & Evans, R.J. 2012. Breeding season diets of sympatric White-tailed Eagles and Golden Eagles in Scotland: no evidence for competitive effects. Bird Study.

Whitfield, D.P., Reid, R., Haworth, P.F., Madders, M., Marquis, M., Tingay, R., & Fielding, A. 2009. Diet Specifity is not associated with increased reproductive performance of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in Western Scotland. Ibis, 151, 255-264.