In Search of a Golden Eagle (Cumbria, England, 2012)

I'm going to the Lake district shortly, for a few days, in search of the one and only English Golden Eagle.....Standby for what is increasingly looking like a potential wet adventure.....TBC!

Well I'm back from what turned out to be a very successful trip. Hope you enjoy my adventure through this immaculate landscape.

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Map of Haweswater reservoir

Generally, it was pretty gloomy but it remained dry throughout my stay at Haweswater

A shot looking back down the valley over the reservoir. All the man made ugly bits are at the other end and out of shot.

Walking up the track to where I thought the RSPB hide was located

The hide is out of view from the footpath and is one of the reasons I went on a little detour - I can think of worse places to make a slight directional mistake in though.

On my return, after my slight detour, I decided to follow the retaining wall up over the brow of the hill to see if the hide I was looking for was there.

Bingo!! Look busy don't they?

The RSPB hide located at the head of the valley

The hide is manned at the weekends from 11:00-16:00 hrs

Harter Fell

I was really lucky as the Golden Eagle was around when I turned up on the scene. Can you see it? No neither could I until the kind RSPB folks put me onto him.

....can you see it now?

He's here, being lazy on a tree attached to the side of the cliffs. The distance from the hide to the bird is about 1.5 miles and is the reason why I couldn't get a better picture. My camera is on full zoom for this photo.

I've blown the above photo up to help reveal Mr G. Eagle

There he is in his full glory. 

Not a great shot by any stretch of the imagination - in fact quite underwhelming -  but a shot non the less. Although you can't really see any detail within this capture the view from the spotting scopes was pretty impressive; and although he didn't do much over the 2.5 hours I was observing him I was still pretty happy to have seen my first wild Golden Eagle. 

He is approximately 13-15 years old and did have a partner at one point, but apparently she died of natural causes around 2004. He puts on his best aftershave, builds a nest, and displays every year, but no female partner ever turns up. I find that quite sad but the RSPB have no plans to relocate a female from the Scottish populations that live approximately 50-70 miles north of the Lake District. If a female does not find him by natural processes he will remain a singleton for the rest of his life. Although it's not a good idea to project the human experience onto wild animals I think there is a healthy lesson to be had from this bird: never give up hope and always keep trying no matter how adverse your situation may seem. I would also like to thank the RSPB wardens for pointing him out as without their help there was absolutely no chance I would have found him. 

Breathtaking! I love this place xx

              Parting shots of the beautiful Haweswater after a successful Golden Eagle hunting trip :-)

Blue sky and Sun - double bonus! 

One thing I find perpetually interesting about places like the lakes is the way they constantly change with the weather. Glints, sparkles, smells, noises, shadows and colours come and go constantly, bringing the whole place alive and providing you with a constant source of different landscapes within a landscape for your senses to enjoy. Definitely beats watching the T.V.

.....and it didn't even rain once! Luck was on my side in more ways than one. Bye for now....

This isn't my photo of the Haweswater Eagle, but I just wanted to show him as I think his magnificence deserves it

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1458603/Last-golden-eagle-male-in-England-fails-to-find-mate.html