England's last remaining Golden Eagle has failed to appear this spring, leading RSPB staff and volunteers at its Lake District home to fear the worst.
The Golden Eagle had been resident at Riggindale at Haweswater in Cumbria since 2001/02 and had been alone since the death of his mate in 2004.
RSPB staff at Haweswater, who operate a special eagle viewpoint at the site, haven’t seen the bird since last November but only became concerned last month when it still hadn’t appeared. The bird isn’t always sighted during the winter but in spring it would normally have been seen nest building and displaying to attract a mate around its territory in Riggindale.
Lee Schofield, Site Manager at RSPB Haweswater, said: “When the eagle didn’t appear last month we thought there was a chance he might be hunting in a nearby valley but over the past few weeks we’ve been gradually losing hope.
“We will probably never find out what happened to him but as he was around 19-20 years old, an advanced age for an eagle, it’s quite possible that he died of natural causes.
“His disappearance marks the end of an era as he has been an iconic part of the Haweswater landscape for the past 15 years. During this time, thousands of visitors have travelled from across the country hoping to catch a glimpse of him at the Riggindale Eagle Viewpoint. With him gone, the Lake District has just got a bit less wild.”
No comments:
Post a Comment