The Fear Factor

Golden Eagle over Lethnot - pastel sketch on paper

Clouds that weighed like lead smothered the lands of Lethnot and the threat of a thunderstorm, that never came, hurried my pace on the exposed ridge above the crags until the deep cradle of the glen once again gave safe comfort to my lightning fearful mind. I was on the hunt for young falcons after seeing adults in the springtime glen but they never came either, and my concerns started over again.

Sketching today

In my soul of senses, the clouds that weightily pinned this Scottish landscape down were wrapped up with an unnatural fear. The all powerful fear in this case was somehow transposed in my mind to land ownership and how powerful individuals influence the land and its nature. I am slap bang in the middle of grouse country and from my sketching viewpoint I can see the place where a young Golden Eagle was found poisoned only a few years ago. Late morning now, and, in a dichotomy of the sad past, a maturing eagle rises effortlessly before me from a course of grouse butts on a steep hill side. And I muse that the persecution of the past should never be forgotten for the fear of returning there.

Golden Eagle on the hunt today

The past dictates that powerful individuals own much of Scotland's land and, in a round about way, they also coercively administer the people of their lands. I hear so often that grouse moor estates have to earn their keep in order to create employment and fringe benefits, but that policy is confined to a tiny minority. Most estates are, by moneyed modernity, owned by business millionaires that in our recent time of austerity have become billionaires. 

Meadow Pipit

A controlling fear is generated by these powerful people just like the thunderstorm neurosis experienced by myself this morning. A few years ago now, I recall one friend who was employed by a local shooting estate pleading with me not to say anything after he confided that the head keeper was regularly burning raptor carcasses ..... 'I will lose my job if you do' was uttered.

Wheatear

Their 'take it for granted' and unsung threats ensure that all that can be done to provide a good season's grouse shooting is carried out; the consequences can be dire and the past proves it. Raptor persecution in Scotland has long been the bugbear of the shooting community and their professional practitioners. Just over the hill from where I sketch there used to be a pair of breeding Golden Eagles and I remember seeing them with a chick on the eyrie in 1989, but never since. They should be there now.

Red Grouse

Grouse moor estates often change hands and management procedures are dependent on the owner's inclinations towards nature. Whether a Golden Eagle or a Peregrine Falcon is allowed to make a home on an estate is entirely in the hands of the owner, not the game-keeper or the factor. Even a new law, vicarious liability, making the owner responsible for persecution crime can be easily side-stepped by the all powerful. In addition, the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project had a disastrous effect on grouse moor estate attitudes towards Hen Harriers (and I suppose all raptors to a degree) and the ghosts of that project still linger over many a grouse moor.

Kestrel

In general, the fall guy is the game-keeper who is under pressure to keep a job or a home, and surely such feudalism must stop. I have failed to find out when this estate changed hands and I fear correlating the last date that eagles nested here with a change of owner. I know who owned this place before and who does presently but I fear to draw a conclusion, and that puts me under a similar threat dilemma endured by the faithful game-keeper.

Red Kites

Pivotal in all this is the fact that I know that historically two pairs of Peregrine Falcons once nested here along with one Golden Eagle pair, and there was grouse aplenty back then in the good old days. I hear you ask, 'what changed and surely, back then, there was more raptor persecution'. Seemingly not the case, because not only did the eagle and falcon thrive in the Angus glens but the Hen Harrier did too. And again, I can propose that, in my opinion, a change of ownership from traditional landed gentry to investing business tycoon caused the change.

Ravens

The evidence of change is easily seen on a grouse moor estate just over the hills to the south-west of where I sit to sketch. The dark persecution past of that estate has been expunged by the new owner despite the fact that one titled business tycoon took over from another less titled, and in doing so justifies the reasoning that it is all down to the owner's inclinations towards nature and sharing an understanding appreciation of the nature that is inherent to the lands of Scotland.

Kestrel harassing a Common Buzzard

The voice of any estate owner is seldom if ever heard when it comes to raptor persecution and, consequently, the futile baton of defence against allegations of persecution is usually picked up by individuals on internet media outlets, or isolated bulletins are issued by the SGA, GWCT or SLE.  Factual statements refuting these allegations are generally ignored by the mainstream media until after the first media-storm barrage offered up by the anti grouse moor campaigners is consumed by the public and that barrage is often designed to mislead.

White heather

The concerns of the many will undoubtedly be ignored by the few for the sake of a gilt-edged continuance to the big grouse bag. Presently, in my opinion, things are not right on the hills where grouse fly because numbers are down and have been down for the past couple of years. Not only does ownership change but the land that supports the grouse changes too whether that be unnaturally influenced by man or not. Bracken invasion, over-burning, tick, heather beetle, airborne nutrient pollution and possible intestinal worm resistance to chemical crop grit are a few of the factors affecting grouse and their moors before predation is even mentioned.

Hill track making machines in Lethnot

The modernity that brings the wealthy owner may also bring the death knell to grouse moors. Unacknowledged changes that are pushing grouse numbers to the edge in some areas may well be what anti grouse moor campaigners wish for. Unfortunately, in my opinion, these changes will also affect the status of moorland raptors and the future of the soaring eagle may take a tumble in years to come that will far outweigh any effects from persecution.

Golden Eagle maturing plumage

Notes;........article in progress............

All text, photographs and sketches done on the 28 July 2019 and subject to copyright - no reproduction.

My new book 'Wildsketch' is available from Blurb bookshop

Income from book sales will form a donation to CABS (Committee Against Bird Slaughter

SGA - Scottish Gamekeepers Association

GWCT - Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

SLE - Scottish Land and Estates

Langholm Moor Demonstration Project

If you are inspired to go out into the hills and glens of Scotland please leave it as you find it, respect the environment, do not litter or discard so called 'biodegradable' fruit and especially if you are a dog walker keep your beast on a lead and do not bag up its waste then chuck it by the wayside. I recently came across one black poo bag neatly hung on a tree branch for someone else to take home and also a bright blue one thrown in the moorland verge....why?

Moorland birds like Golden Plover, Dunlin, Dotterel, Ptarmigan and many raptors nest on the ground, it is advisable to keep dogs at heel or preferably on leads when walking on the high plateaux of the Cairngorms during summer months.

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. Observe protected species at a respectful distance usually from about 1000 metres and for short periods of time only.

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. Many geographic names and location recognizable photos have been omitted to prevent persecution or ringing-monitoring disturbance to named species.

Canon camera 200D with optical zoom lens EFS 55-250mm used; please note that the zoom range distance if given is calculated by OS map from subject location to camera