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| Cloud Curtain - pastel sketch on paper |
From time immemorial, people around the world have wanted to share the characteristics of various birds and animals to enable hunting, wisdom, stealth, strength, courage or athletic speed. To worship an envied or respected species would reveal its powers for the enrichment of our own lives. The Golden Eagle is a bird that inspires admiration because of its freedom to soar majestically over the highlands of Scotland and, if you asked, it is my alter ego creature that I would like to come back as. On the other hand, what we witnessed today might encourage me to change my mind.
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| Sketching today |
As eagle I comment............. 'and on the swell of wind that rises up from the corrie I spin around on tight wings with feather tips bruised by the brittle heather that forms a jagged crown around the eyrie edge. I hear the whistling vortex as air rushes through my outstretched, fingered feathers on wings arched high above so that I may gaze and peruse on things below, if some peace is given. I look to the blue mountains far away where snow still lingers and my neighbouring rival soars beneath the gathering clouds of heavy grey many miles distant and his peace is also broken. I crank my head sideways to focus on something moving through the grass over there, by the crashing burn, and I retract wing tips that pull on the wind, to gain speed and then twist my tail feathers, just a touch, in order to stoop towards it. There it is, the zig-zag slither of an Adder and not worth the struggle, especially when it coils an unpredictable, whipping tail around my leg. One flap from my wings is all that is needed to set course for the windy ridge covered in Blaeberry and an easy chance to gain height.
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Golden Eagle, a handsome male
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Onwards and upwards I go in a wind driven spiral and, from a timeless heaven, check on the deer herd that wander in spirit with me over the high peat hags and their calving time is coming soon. I can tell that by the behaviour of the hinds in calf, they are unsettled, moving quickly between grazing patches and circling within the protective herd waiting for that moment of birth and I shall wait also. Last time there was a breech death and a few still births that keep us well provisioned at a time when my off-spring are hungriest in June. Well minded, because I need to make sure that the family is fine at the eyrie and therefore must run the feathered gauntlet yet again. Sometimes I can fly cloud high, out of sight, and by diving at great speed earthwards then rising up again in a steep climb over the corrie lip can outrun the attention of other scathing, scolding birds. Sky-diving is great fun and in early spring that is my territorial display that I repeat over and over to reaffirm bonds with others and the land.
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Golden Eagle, the I am going to eat you look
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Well, I may be the King of Birds but that title does not offer me complete protection from my fellow aviators. Here we go, nearly at the eyrie, so let me commentate. Not far from the eyrie and.... yowch.... that split my tail feathers. This bitchy, female Merlin up the glen dives repeatedly at me every time that I pass near her and is vicious even although she is tiny in size. Here she comes again from above in a thirty metre stoop.... whoosh....that brushed my wing that time and, dazzled, I have lost where she is because she climbs with the sun at her back and is far too speedy for me to turn on her. Must flee the commotion and by pulling a long, stoop with my wing elbows tucked in she is outrun and quickly returns to her nesting site. A wee crag with trees sprouting out of the rock beckons me for a breather and I crash through some fresh green Birch leaves to heave my wings backwards to brake and land. The branch bows with my weight and teetering forwards out of balance I clench talons tighter to break through the thin bark that falls in papery cascades onto the grass below.
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Osprey and Golden Eagle
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The green peace lasts only for seconds as an Osprey rekindles an old spat and angrily yelps from the sky-line above, ultimately swooping down to fish for leaves above my head. Enough of this and I launch from the branch into space with the fish-hawk still hanging in the skies above and without warning.... wallop.... it dives and strikes my back with its talons not once but three times in succession, this is getting dangerously tedious, I have things to do rather than suffer this harassment. The crags in the glen echo with the screeching calls from this stubborn fish-hawk who really has no place here. Heading along the steep slopes the yelping fish-hawk does not give up and follows me until I cross the depths of the glen near to where my vintage eyrie is situated. Finally, on the steepest part of the crags, I land to let an aggravated heart beat settle and linger to let a few moments pass before over-flying the eyrie.
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| Regurgitated eagle pellet measuring 10 x 3 cm, with whole grouse foot |
The next flight scrambling into the air to annoy my feathered outline is the neighbourhood pair of Carrion Crows that nest in a tree growing from a crag's grassy terrace. One below and one above me means that my options are squeezed into escape yet again. Below me rocky crags rush past as I brush off the hassling crows and a chance to land above the men passing through, so far below. I am intrigued to discover why they stare at me and I at them, I cannot eat them and they cannot eat me, so why be interested at all. Then, I remember some men who came to squeeze metal rings on my eaglet's legs and took measurements with their hearts pounding in fear and one year they took one of my eaglets away, I never saw her again.
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| Carrion Crow and Golden Eagle |
My belly rumbles and food is scarce at the moment because the Red Grouse are sitting tight with newly hatched chicks and the Mountain Hare has changed pelage from white to deep brown and is virtually invisible to spot as they hide below the overhanging rims of peat hags. Men kill these hares, my main diet, because of parasitic disease is their excuse. In my eyes it is a spiteful denial of my God given right to a food source. I can control the hare population naturally without their interference, if given half a chance. Must fly and head back out to hunt but have to run that feathered gauntlet again. The Merlin wriggles on her nest and raises her head to spot me. She rises in preparation for a repeat attack, here goes.....illegitimi non carborundum.'
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| Carrion Crow bombing the Golden Eagle |
A pair of Stonechats in the glen is very welcome as they are becoming quite rare now and this male in the photo was here for most of the winter, very unusual. Likewise, a pair of Whinchats are nearby in a new plantation and again this year along with Wheatears seem to be thin on the ground. Ring Ouzels on the other hand are everywhere with fledglings scudding around between the boulders and with adult males still singing they will have time for a second brood at this rate. Great excitement was stirred up in the form of a lovely small moth and neither of us knew what it was, but after spending a few hours researching the little blighter it prevails that what flew across our path was the heather inhabiting Beautiful Yellow Underwing and bonny it was too, but disappointedly did not reveal its yellow bits to us.
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| Stonechat male |
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| The Beautiful Yellow Underwing moth - Anarta myrtilli |
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| Common Heath moth |
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| Vapourer Moth eggs |
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| Dog's Mercury |
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| Starry Saxifrage |
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| Bird Cherry |
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| Bearberry |
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| Petty Whin |
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| Willow Warbler |
Notes;
All sketches and photos are done on the day and are artist copyright.
As eagle I comment..........I am attempting to write as an eagle, not easy, and is not necessarily my opinion.
Please be aware that it is illegal to disturb nesting eagles or other raptors and you may do so inadvertently in your journeys into the highlands. I do not recommend searching for any of the species mentioned in this blog because this may cause undue disturbance to them. With my knowledge of the areas described in this blog I can locate and observe protected species at a respectful distance usually from about 1000 metres for short periods of time only.
No map for conservation reasons and no wildlife was unduly or knowingly disturbed by my presence or for the purposes of this web page other than what would be expected on a normal hill walk.
illegitimi non carborundum - latin phrase popularly translated as, 'don't let the bastards grind you down'.
