[CarolineJ]

With spectacular timing, given the whole village started lambing this week, a pair of young golden eagles has moved into the area - I've seen them hunting the burn twice today and then one landed on a telegraph pole on my croft. 

Beautiful to see, but why couldn't they have taken up residence a few months later in the year??

[Backinwellies]

Think I'd donate a lamb to be able to watch golden eagles.

[Lesley Silvester]

I used to live very near to an eagle's eyrie and we often used to see the pair flying over our head. It being an area of hill sheep, there must have been a few lambs disappeared.


There was only local tale of two climbers who were heading up a rock face immediately below the eyrie when half a sheep plummeted past them, very close. The climbers looked up, saw two angry looking eagles and decided that somewhere else would be better to climb.

[Fleecewife]

There'd be no point in them hanging around when there were no young lambs to take 

But yes, how wonderful to live somewhere you can see eagles close up.

We had a Peregrine sitting on a post just outside our kitchen window today, but not quite as exciting as eagles.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

Isn't that a quote most popular in action movies? I do love golden eagles myself, fascinating creatures; however if one of them started decimating my lamb population (IE livelihood) then no matter how spectacular they are something would have to be done, but only if caught in the act. I prefer watching them in their natural habitat in America or north Africa. I think I read somewhere that they also are native to scotland, can't remember where though

[Fleecewife]

So what 'something' would you do WBF, given they are a protected species and you need to stay within the law?

[waterbuffalofarmer]

seeing as it is against the law to shoot them I would gather as much evidence as possible and explain my position, not that they would listen as they haven't with the badgers, and see what the authorities would do. However seeing as I live in rather a harsh part of Wales it is highly unlikely that they would choose to live here. Partly because I havent many trees. There was one further in land a year or two ago which was just passing through and I think it made a page in the local news.

[pharnorth]

Well I guess there are only so many lambs an eagle can eat.  Easy for me to say as they are not likely to start roosting in Cambridge.  I took my son eagle flying for his 18th birthday it was a wonderful, but very windy experience.

[Lesley Silvester]

I was living in Scotland when we had some nearby and I know there are lots of areas there that have them.

[devonlady]

I have never seen a Golden Eagle and would love to, even if it meant keeping lambs indoors for a few weeks. We have buzzards which decimate my beloved bantams given the chance and a sparrow hawk who seems almost friendly I see him so often!

[CarolineJ]

No indoors to take them to for most people here, just a few lambing pens for the new arrivals and then straight back out (in rain jackets if necessary). 

They were back again this morning, so some rather rubbish pictures - they were about half a mile away for the flight shots and about a quarter of a mile away for the telegraph pole one, and even my 400mm lens struggles at that distance!  (Cow included for scale in the first shot...)

[Lesley Silvester]

Great photos.

[nutterly_uts]

 

Gorgeous creatures. I was lucky enough to get close with a (tame) Harris Hawk once and have nursed a fair few barn owls and kestrals in my previous job but those eagles are something else .. wow

[Daisys Mum]

Beautiful birds,I suppose you just have to hope their are plenty rabbits around to divert them from your lambs

[harmony]

I just read that the last Golden Eagle we had South of the Border has not returned to Haweswater so is presumed dead.