Dawn to dusk on the hills of Glen Esk marked my wanderings in nature's time today. The black beauties croaked a welcome to the warming Sun that lasered a path up the frosty glen and all was still within a nocturnal chill. Crossbills nibbled at Larch cones in a light that threatened to not come at all, and a Common Buzzard pierced a hidden call into the cold void that beckoned solar light to invade.

Fallen Bracken fronds, in faded brown, were stitched together by sparkling, white frost to form a lattice work crust with soft decay below, and stepping through was like wading into a gigantic pie with puff pastry on top. Sugared flowers of Ling and Cross-leaved Heath brushed a sprinkling of frost into the air at each step, and distant Red Grouse cackled with joy to the coming of day.Waiting for eagles, only to find a blizzard of tiny Snowflakes tinkling a tune o'er the high hills was godly, or magical, or mystical. That delicate spirituality soon dissolved to earthly, freezing fingers that eventually warmed in sunshine; a shine that dazzled the rest of day away with experience proving that large raptors and bright, windless skies do not mix.

A paddling, butterfly splash sees a replete Goosander belly flopping down a cascading mountain burn without recourse to flight and the wonder that Brown Trout are here at all, mystifies once again. Red Deer glow orange with the morning light; some are still reclining on their Moon shadow beds and shuffle round to bathe flanks to the rising Sun, and not the only ones on the moor with comfort in mind.

Mountain Hare love sunbathing and, if a photo stalker lines up the dazzling Sun behind, a blinding approach is gained until that point of close encounter makes the hare realise that danger is near enough to bolt into its peaty burrow, but not before a portrait session ends! By the way, Sparrowhawks use the same trick when stooping on prey and, incidentally, so did fighter pilots during the Second World War.

Red Grouse curiously flip from side to side when in flight, possibly to confuse a pursuing raptor, but that mechanism seems to stem from the high position of their head when flying and their natural inclination to look backwards over each wing in turn as they flush from the ground in an escape. Grouse will flee before an eagle and this is often the first tell tale sign that an eagle is hunting yet, in contrast, a hunting Peregrine will make grouse cower under the heath.

Personally, I have no doubt that Red Grouse are truly wild birds despite the anti-shooting, agenda promoted notion that they are effectively 'farmed' for shooting sport. To actually observe Red Grouse surviving winter conditions alongside high mountain dwelling Ptarmigan reveals their tough nature and adaptability; respect is due to these native birds no matter what shadowing association follows them.

The Scottish government has pre-empted the advice derived from the Werritty report into grouse moor shooting and management by outlining their intentions to pursue the plan to license grouse moor estates before the report's advisory 'wait and see' five year term is up. Questions over raptor persecution (including the very disputable 'vanishing' sat tag events), hare culling and muir-burn have precipitated the government's action despite many reports proving a scientific contradiction to some of the reasons for this licensing scheme.

In my opinion the licensing proposals are unresolved, impractical, impossible to police and unfair to shooting estates that have a historically low or no history of raptor persecution. Alternatively, shooting estates that have had a history of persecution should be on a licensed 'red' list for future improvement that would be independently monitored and, similarly, shooting estates that do have suitable habitat for nesting raptors that are absent or have had nesting raptors at one time should be included in a licensed 'watchdog' list with independent monitoring.

The Angus glens of Isla, Prosen, Clova, Lethnot and Esk all have suitable nesting habitat for Golden Eagles and Peregrine Falcons, and from that list I would currently include two of these glens as hosting shooting estates that would fall into a 'watchdog' licensing category. Historically the glens of Ogil, Lethnot and Esk have had 'dead bird found' persecution events within the last twenty years and from that list I would currently include three shooting estates on a 'red' list and only one is listed in both categories ..... in my opinion mind!

Licensing in the hands of, and, under the direction of certain organisations or individuals can only be a blindfolded recipe for disaster where ill advised cooks plop all their favourite things into a pot hoping for success; the result will undoubtedly be distasteful to the 'guinea-pig' few, but flavoursome to the voting masses who are not aware of the potentially poisonous recipe.

I do wonder at what will happen when a satellite tagged raptor is found dead on a persecution innocent estate ..... will that automatically mean the unjust withdrawal of a licence, and for how long? Large raptors can ingest toxic poisons (and in some cases survive the likes of Carbofuran when treated in time) yet are still able to travel some distance before succumbing to the effects, so a bird could be poisoned on one estate and end up across the march on a neighbouring estate's land.

The variations of alleged persecution circumstance are endless, but at the end of the day those who do not want raptors on their land will find ways to get round any licensing or illegality problems ..... a minority have done so in the past and will continue to do so into the future.

All text, photographs and sketches done on the 28 November 2020 and subject to copyright - no reproduction.

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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 Curlew, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Dotterel, Red and Black Grouse, 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 inquisitive 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.

Cold fingers of harr creeping up from the sea coddled the heathered land into a chestnut coloured sleep, and feathered fingers spread in a desperate flight as young eagle hunted grouse during twilight's glow, and her belly rumbled with emptiness as the coming march of Winter whistled o'er the hills of her belonging.

All of my sun-smacked day was spent reaching two remote Golden Eagle roosting locations within the high hills and I regularly check these spots for activity because they are frequently used by young eagles foraging on the Glen Esk grouse moors. Many rookie young eagles find their way onto food lucrative shooting estate moors that are not, and never have been, occupied by territorial adult eagles that can be aggressively defensive to vagrant birds.

I bother checking these locations because evidence of existence does not necessarily rely on observations. Often we hear of so called experts casting disparaging remarks about the lack of wildlife on moorland because they have not seen anything move in front of their agenda tinged faces .... huh, experience tells me that nature does not perform somersaults just because you are there!

Checking the 'not so obvious' can reveal insights that indicate an eagle's presence, or sometimes its age by feather study, or nutritional condition. A roost site decorated by plenty of fresh liming and regurgitated pellets might suggest that food is plentiful or, as I found today, there seems to be a shortage in supply ..... certainly I did not find any plucked Mountain Hare, Rabbit or grouse carcasses on my travels of some eleven miles, which is unusual.

Feathers at these locations are gathered up, leaving a reasonably clean site so that a reckoning can be made at the next inspection of whether or not an eagle has been visiting. Certainly suspicions might be raised when an eagle that was obviously frequenting a location a month ago, suddenly does not. Fortunately most sites that I visit do have evidence of fairly continuous usage, but my doubting persecution honed principle of 'used to be' or 'should be' is always at the back of my mind when a raptor seemingly vacates the area.

The 'used to be' factor is very common nowadays, for example, one of the eagle roost sites used to be the location for nesting Peregrine Falcons many years ago ..... did the falcons leave because the eagles suddenly appeared one day, doubtful because eagles have always been here, or was their departure down to illegal persecution, possibly. Peregrines have had a chequered history in this glen where around five nest sites have 'gone' over the years ..... Peregrines and grouse moors cannot co-exist in the opinion of some hardened attitudes.

The case for 'should be' and 'will be' nesting Peregrines or, indeed, Hen Harriers should be on the lips of everyone with an interest in the future well being of this special glen environment ..... one that provides a home for wildlife, but importantly provides people with their inherent livelihoods ..... surely there is enough room for both, or will 'could do better' be etched eternally in Werritty stone.

Our young Golden Eagle is this year's fledgling from an estate across the march, methinks, and the bird is on the prowl but struggles in hunting accomplishment when compared to an adult bird in flight. She flaps huge wings frequently to stay aloft and impatiently moves from one hillside to another when prey fails to show. This eagle will have to have a fast learning curve in order to survive through a Grampian winter season ..... next year will surely tell.

All text, photographs and sketches done on the 7 November 2020 and subject to copyright - no reproduction.

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David Adam Sketchbook

My new book 'Wildsketch' is available from Blurb bookshop

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

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 Curlew, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Dotterel, Red and Black Grouse, 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 inquisitive 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.

The thought had crossed my mind, like many other vapid thoughts that come and go into oblivion, that no bird would be flying around the glen in this foul weather of severe gales and sleety rain, but that thought was proven wanting. As my legs buckled under the blasting, blasted wind a big bird appeared behind me and we both did a topsy-turvy dance to the wind's unbalanced tune as eyes remotely met. In unexpected awe I gazed, and the eagle peered back from behind a butcher's beak and outstretched neck, then turned with the wind as lashed feathers embraced aeronautical defeat.

Huge, coffin plank wings collapsed then spread again, and again, as the wind grew more vicious in its determination to wreak havoc on anything that dared to share its wild glory. The young White-tailed Eagle was brave, and brazenly masterful as every feather found purpose in its existence. Hungered desperation had forced flight into the glen to search for carrion scraps, maybe like the cast off Red Deer stag's hooves surgically bladed from the carcass by a successful deer stalk earlier in the week on this shooting estate.

A small herd of Red Deer, that seemed to favour one craggy location in the upper part of the glen (featured previously in Call of the Wild), is now missing the harem master stag and I presume that the four leggy hooves that I found nearby belonged to his royal lordship, a fine beast indeed he was. The hinds last week were content to let me pass without panic, but now they scatter with the lesson of the bullet learnt. As the stalking season progresses the beasts seem to get wiser and an approach is spotted miles off by savvy hinds that bolt at the slightest cause.

I have found that the female gender of the species in eagles is more cautiously bashful than the male, and on many occasions the male eagles of our two species will investigate my presence by flying overhead without fear. The male White-tailed Eagle is especially bold and no doubt this behaviour formed a factor in the bird's demise in Britain, being an easy shot from below. A male was seen in this glen during March of this year (featured previously in A Friend Indeed) and I can only hope that, eventually, a maturing pair will bond to nest locally despite the possible persecuting interference from those who have economic fears about these eagles being present ..... say no more!

During a time back in 2012-13 a White-tailed Eagle's nest was destroyed by felling the tree that it was built in, but any culpability was not proven. The displaced female eagle and new mate later built a nest elsewhere, but her original mate mysteriously disappeared. Mike Groves and I were fortunate to discover this new productive nest, the first in Angus and a successful end result for a project initiated by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

The glen gargoyle, as always, was in command and ushered forth a deluge of clear highland water from the storm and this source was reputedly used for distilling the finest whisky that was sold clandestinely in Brechin many years ago. Today the hoof prints of the deer stalker's Garron are still on the ground, filled with squelching water as I pass, and I ponder a thought that things never really change in the glen ..... for these ghostly hoof prints could well have been left by the whisky bootlegger's pony two hundred years ago ..... ah, the highland economy is aye changing.

All text, photographs and sketches done on the 1 November 2020 and subject to copyright - no reproduction.

My othe  pages; 
David Adam Sketchbook
David Adam Gallery
Facebook

My new book 'Wildsketch' is available from Blurb bookshop

Income from book sales will form a donation to CABS (Committee Against Bird Slaughter)
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 Curlew, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Dotterel, Red and Black Grouse, 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 inquisitive 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.