Jeff Watson

Raised in rural Galloway, southwest Scotland, Jeff Watson’s interest in birds was inspired by his father, bird artist and ornithologist, Donald Watson. “My father’s enthusiasm for birds, both as a painter and as a studiously careful observer of bird behaviour, was an ever-present influence. Add to this the steady flow of ornithologists through our home and it was perhaps inevitable, that birds would figure large in my later life.” An early memory is of “watching a pair of eagles with my father, as they soared effortlessly high over a nest site not far from the well known landmark of Murray’s monument.” The eagle was to become a major part of Jeff’s life in future years.

Jeff took a degree in zoology at Aberdeen University, graduating in 1974. He then spent four years researching the endemic Seychelles Kestrel, for which he was awarded a doctorate by Aberdeen University. “Each island in Seychelles has its own special quality. Perhaps it is the sea, its many shades of blue in changing mood and its fantastic wealth of living creatures, which is the abiding memory of most who visit Seychelles. My favourite island will probably always be Fregate, the easternmost of the group and only a couple of kilometres across. For a year, I spent a ’Crusoe-like’ existence in the company of lumbering giant tortoises and graceful fairy terns.”

On return from Seychelles Jeff worked for a short time with the Scottish Wildlife Trust before joining the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) to lead a major research project on land use change and impacts on golden eagles. Findings from this research guided NCC policies on the golden eagle and informed much of the regular monitoring and national surveys carried out by a generation of reserve wardens, raptor groups and individual eagle enthusiasts. He is known to many as a world authority on the golden eagle and was a field naturalist with all the skills and qualities which go with the study of this most iconic of birds of prey, which for many people epitomises Highland wildlife.

Following in the footsteps of eagle observers such as HB Macpherson and Seton Gordon, Jeff typified the description he offered once, of ‘eagle people’. “There are certain personal qualities that I tend to associate with eagle enthusiasts and I would guess that most of the early Scottish workers had these to some degree. The first of these qualities is tenacity and a preparedness to pursue their interest despite the frustration caused by the elusiveness of the birds they studied and the frequently inclement conditions and difficult terrain in which they work. Then there is single-mindedness of purpose and a related tendency to be at ease with solitude.”

Physical fitness and patience, as well as a good eye for spotting birds and nests, is a necessary skill for an eagle watcher and fortunately, with his large, rugged frame and long legs, Jeff was a tireless walker. For five years, with the help of a growing band of supporters and his wife, Vanessa, he tramped the Highlands from his base in a camper-van, covering hundreds of miles of eagle territory, wearing through two pairs of boots every year.

Jeff’s work became a pioneering study of golden eagles in nine ecological regions, which set the highest of standards for understanding the effects of grazing, persecution, afforestation and disturbance on raptors. Ironically, the Galloway eagles observed in his youth, became an illustration of the findings of the study. The Galloway eagle site was “the first … to be recolonised after the1939-45 war and the first territory to be abandoned; almost certainly due to the growth of the conifer forests which were planted during the 1950s over huge areas of the bird’s previously open range with the consequent losses of crucial hunting grounds.”

Since 1997, Jeff was involved in the ‘strategy and politics’ of Nature Conservation as a Director on the Management Team of Scottish Natural Heritage; highly unusual to combine consummate field skills with the challenging strategic role. Quiet and courteous by nature, he won arguments by martialling his facts calmly and by disarming those around him. Within SNH, he had lead responsibility for the Natura programme (the designation, conservation and management of Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation), the National Nature Reserve series, and the Site Condition Monitoring Programme.

While Jeff’s taste in music harks back to his Seychelles experiences “I grew into early middle age with Bob Marley and since then moved to a wide range of Creole music - which reminds me of warm beer and turquoise seas. However, I still think there is little man-made music that can compete with nature’s dawn chorus on a misty May morning”. Jeff was also a gifted photographer, producing images of birds in their natural landscape setting that are reminiscent of his father’s paintings.

Jeff’s work on golden eagles resulted in many scientific papers and in The Golden Eagle (1997), published by Poyser/Academic Press. This masterpiece of a book was the first monograph produced in large format in the prestigious Poyser series, and has been lauded throughout the world (it was awarded the Birdwatching Magazine Prize for monograph of the year). This beautifully written work has virtually sold out, and a second edition is in preparation. Just shortly before he lost his battle with cancer, in September, 2007, he was awarded the prestigious, RSPB medal – presented to individuals in recognition of wild bird protection and countryside conservation.

The inclusion of Jeff’s story is not only to mark his major contribution to Highland conservation and to the global conservation of eagles, but as a great supporter of the Highland Naturalists project itself. He recognised the potential of the project to inspire others to enjoy nature through dedicated study, as he himself had done.