Eagle Days: (Wildlife and People)

This book is based on many years of experience with eagles. It was written by bringing together Stuart's diary and field notes, along with his photographs, thus providing a complete description of eagles, their behaviour and ecology. The book consists mainly of a series of descriptions of the author’s field activity over many years, searching for and monitoring Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in Scotland. There is a focus on the breeding season and the annual quest to identify the locations of breeding pairs and monitor the outcome at their nests. Reaching some breeding sites requires several hours of hard walking over difficult terrain; since the birds roam over such huge distances, there is no guarantee of seeing one during a day’s fieldwork. Combined with the vagaries of the weather, swarms of biting insects and the need to scramble over rocky slopes or wade through treacherous bogs, it becomes clear that eagle monitoring will not be for everyone. Nevertheless, the author's enthusiasm for it shines through. Stuart is a founder member of the North East Raptor Study Group-the first to be set up in the country. He has worked with Jeff Watson and Keith Brockie, and more recently with Mike McGrady. Illustrated with the author's own remarkable photographs.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Introduction Acknowledgements 1 - New Year Days 2 - Spring Display 3 - Hunting 4 - Capercaillie 5 - White-tailed Sea Eagle 6 - Still Dawn 7 - Equinox 8 - Nest Building 9 - Incubation 10 - Mountain Plants 11 - Change Over 12 - New Life 13 - Short Cuts and Otters 14 - Eagles in the Mist 15 - Thermal of Birds 16 - Ringing Chicks 17 - Prey 18 - First Flight 19 - Caledonian Wood 20 - When the Geese Come In 21 - November Days 22 - Snow Storm 23 - Timelessness Further Reading

Review :
Reading through the book was certainly a very pleasant way to while away a few hours indoors, whilst at the same time firing an enthusiasm to spend more time outside watching wildlife at first hand. For me, three things make this book stand out. First, the photography is excellent, and mountain birds, flowers, lichens and landscapes are superbly depicted. Second, there are many new insights into the ecology of golden eagles – one of the hardest of all birds to study. And third, and perhaps most importantly, there is a thoroughly sincere and persuasive narrative on seeing and understanding nature.  It captures both a sense of the remote places that these iconic birds live in and also the efforts involved in studying them in the wild. The book is illustrated with, and enhanced by, the author’s own photographs of landscapes and wildlife…He uses extensive field notes and diary entries from his varied encounters with eagles… Whilst the book is packed with fascinating information and such detail, it is the ease at which the author makes the reader feel involved that for me, is its secret….it is a well balanced book….the book is a large enough format to do justice to the excellent series of photographs.