I'd say that the Highlands of Scotland is a region that puts the 鈥楪reat鈥� into the Great Outdoors. An area of outstanding beauty with some of the countries very best wildlife.
For me holiest of holy grails is the golden eagle. I simply run out of superlatives to describe this bird. It's their tenacity. We have wiped out many of our large predators, but the golden eagle remains, it is our ultimate survivor.
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Over the years I've been really lucky to have spent a time watching them, the most powerful predators in the avian world. I love them. It's not just me. As early as recorded history, mankind has been fascinated by the eagle, today it is still regarded with great mystic reverence in almost every country in which it's found.
Golden eagles are depicted in some of the world鈥檚 earliest art forms. Cave art, coinage, carvings, crests, seals and stamps. The mighty Roman legions used the Eagle as its standard, leading the once great empire. So I suppose I am carrying on a very old tradition, by digitally capturing them!
There is a lot to love about this bird, but it is its adaptability that sets it apart. At one time golden eagles ranged across much of the northern hemisphere, distributed across continents, throughout wildly varied habitats and climates. Scotland is positively balmy compared to some other parts of their range.
The most skilful of hunters, they are opportunists that can make a meal form virtually any animal of a reasonable size. In the UK alone, well over 400 species of vertebrate have been recorded as prey.
For thousands of years we treated this bird with respect, but with the Industrial Revolution came the advent of sport-hunting and widespread commercial stock farming.
Our attitudes to these magnificent birds reversed, reverence turning to revulsion. Golden Eagles were widely seen as a threat to livelihoods.
Times have changed, these days we generally hold wildlife and wild places in higher regard, but for some (thankfully a minority), nothing has moved on. Instead of love, some still have loathing.
The sad truth is that in some areas golden eagles still face the same persecution as they did over one hundred years ago. Firearms and poisons are used ruthlessly, in an attempt to make the skies eagle free. Only with further protection, awareness and successful prosecution of offenders, can we ensure the future of this monumental emblem of the wild.