Published at 11:11, Thursday, 05 July 2012

NEIL Harnott was the speaker from HQ who came along to talk to the Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s West Coast Support Group at Seascale Methodist Church Hall.

Neil is so enthusiastic about golden eagles that he even lives at Haweswater to be near the only nest site in Cumbria.

Eagles have been revered through the centuries and stand for courage, far-sightedness and as a messenger from the gods. They are depicted on banners, battle standards and often hold up the Bible in churches. They have a golden nape, whilst juveniles have white patches on wings and tails; and, as with other birds of prey, the female is bigger than the male.

Usually silent, if you hear mewing then the bird will be a buzzard, not an eagle. With a 6.5ft wingspan they can soar over large ranges but prefer areas of low human population. Unfortunately they have received regular persecution from poisoning, egg collecting and lately from enthusiast climbers.

Two hundred years ago they bred successfully in Cumbria and the Pennines. Although our pair have reared 16 youngsters, in 2004 the female died, leaving us with one solitary male.

Golden eagles nest on north-facing crags and mostly eat sheep and red deer carrion, but also consume short-tailed voles, carrion crows, red grouse and feral pigeons. They have a wonderful undulating display which can be seen from January to April and eggs are laid early March. These get six weeks’ incubation and within 70-80 days the youngsters are able to fly.

The oldest eagle recorded in the wild was 31 years, whilst in captivity they can reach 60. Unfortunately their future in the wild is still precarious and their numbers are not increasing.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk