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Scotland's People provides online access to the official records of some of the most important events of our lives. Recorded in the Registers of Vital Events, every January we release the records of people who were born 100 years ago, married 75 years ago or died 50 years ago in Scotland.

The entries of the people who died in Scotland in 1974 are now available to search and view on the Scotland’s People website. They are part of over 245,000 images released in January 2025 which include birth entries in 1924 and marriage entries in 1949.

The total number of deaths registered in Scotland in 1974 was 65,966. This was a decrease of 1,421 from the previous year’s total of 64,545.

Birdman of Orkney: Edward Balfour (1908-1974)

Edward ‘Eddie’ Balfour was born on 21 March 1908 at Breck House, Rendall on Orkney. His father, Edward Balfour, was a local blacksmith and his mother was Jemima Jessie Hercus Fraser or Balfour.

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Edward Hercus Balfour birth certificate 1908,
Edward 'Eddie' Balfour's birth certificate. Crown copyright, NRS, Statutory Register of Births, 1908, 016/2&

Balfour was the eldest child of the marriage as enumerated on the 1921 census, below:

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1921 census enumerating the Balfour family
The Balfour family enumerated at Breck House in Scotland’s 1921 census for Evie and Rendall, Orkney. Crown copyright, NRS, 1921 census, 016/6/1 page 1

After his marriage to Robina Stranger Ritchie, at The Manse in Rendall in 1940, the Balfour's continued to live on Orkney. Their first child, Diana, was born the same year. They had a second daughter, Olga, in 1944 who was born at Mill Farm, Rendall. Balfour had various occupations, including farmer and school bus driver.

However, Balfour’s passion was for the wildlife of Orkney, in particular its birds of prey. In 1953 he became the first Royal Society of the Protection of Birds (RSPB) employee on Orkney, being paid £100 a year as a ‘Watcher’. Balfour spent 30 years watching and studying Hen Harriers in the local area. This remains the longest raptor (bird of prey) study ever undertaken and revealed ground-breaking insight in to the species’ unique behaviours on Orkney. Balfour discovered that female Hen Harriers outnumbered males by two to one. Because of this it is the female, rather than the male, that puts on an exquisite sky dance to lure their prospective mate.

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The male (left) and female Hen Harrier. Image credit: Biodiversity Library, Public domain
The male (left) and female Hen Harrier. Image credit: Biodiversity Library, Public domain

It is through Balfour’s pioneering work that we know so much about this bird today. Balfour’s research gives us insight into the nesting, longevity and feeding strategies of the species. His research is continued today, conducted by the Scottish Raptor Study Group on Orkney.

Balfour was also instrumental in preserving the local moorland as an essential part of Orkney’s heritage. Conservation of these areas were of national importance as they were breeding sites for several birds, including the Hen Harrier and ground-nesting Kestrels. One such site was In the Dale Valley, which Balfour helped secure as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the 1960s.

Upon returning from a trip with colleagues to ring a number of birds for research, Balfour suddenly fell ill and died. He died on 12 August 1974, aged 66 years old and survived by his wife Robina who died in 2009.

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Eddie Balfour's death certificate, 1974
Edward Balfour's death entry. Crown copyright, NRS, Statutory Register of Deaths, 1974 144/75

The RSPB named their bird hide at Cottascarth after Eddie Balfour in honour of his passion and research into local birds of prey. There you might see for yourself the Hen Harriers, Curlews and Short-eared Owls in their natural Orcadian landscape that Balfour spent most of his life observing.

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Eddie Balfour in the field. Image Orkney Library and Archive
Eddie Balfour n the field. Image courtesy of Orkney Library and Archive
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