Out of the blue

I got a phone call last night from a friend inviting me to join them on a walk from Haweswater in the Lake District. I was glad they did because it looked like this.


I kept my eyes open because there's a Golden Eagle on territory in the area. I was happy to see a pair of Ravens and listen to their "pronk" calling, when this turned up.

The Penrith Mountain Rescue Team were practicing in the area. An activity which seemed to consist of waiting in the sunshine for their turn to have a ride in the helicopter. Nice work if you can get it!

We arrived back at the car footsore but extremely happy and set off back down the valley when I spotted a large raptor high above the road. Its size was difficult to make out against the open sky but I got the impression of a generally dark brown bird with pale wing patches as it made its way directly across the lake to the far side, alternating three or four powerful, "elastic"wingbeats with short glides, the wings held in a shallow V. I was still thinking "maybe buzzard" when it came closer to the horizon giving the impression of a much bigger bird. It continued to soar in the area of Laythwaite Crags before disappearing behind the horizon after perhaps 5 minutes. We had our Golden Eagle!