Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.
Here is a photo of Houghton Mill – in Cambridgeshire. A friend took it and it is very similar to an official photo of the mill but quite a few differences – Rosie’s Mum in Toronto
Trying to get the hang of new camera:
Young raccoon in the local ravine – Rosie’s Mum
Lobelia on our balcony – Rosie’s Mum
Rosalee – Rosie’s Mum
Golden Eagle to go with the article below that I found after reading Janette – Cheshire entry on the Forum.
Not to sure if Janette is correct about no breeding pairs of Golden Eagles left in the UK. I did speak to a person on the Isle of Mull about a year ago trying to do a webcam.
Game shooting is by far the most cruel bloodsport. Worse than hunting with dogs. The big shooting estates in England and Scotland are run solely for profit. There is no consideration given to any wildlife that gets in the way. Birds of prey do take Grouse but the easy answer is to release more birds to allow for those taken by birds of prey.
Golden eagle tagged in conservation plan found poisoned to death
Alma, a golden eagle tracked on conservationist website, vanished in early July and was found poisoned to death today
Police raided a Highland grouse moor today after a golden eagle that had been satellite-tagged as part of a government-funded project was found poisoned with illegal pesticides.
The grouse moor, keepers’ cottages and vehicles on the Millden estate near Brechin in Angus were searched under warrant after Tayside police and wildlife crime investigators raided the property early this morning. There were no arrests, and no one from the estate was available for comment.
The estate is run by Nick Baikie, a grouse moor manager who was previously employed by Mark Osborne, an Oxfordshire-based chartered surveyor. Grouse moors run by Osborne in Scotland and England have previously been raided by police investigating alleged wildlife crime offences.
The bird, known to conservationists as Alma, was a young female golden eagle whose daily movements had been tracked on the website of one of Scotland’s leading conservationists, Roy Dennis, as it flew over the Cairngorms.
The daily records on Dennis’s website ended on 2 July, the second anniversary of its tagging in 2007 on the Glenfeshie estate in the Highlands, as part of a long-term study into their behaviour and breeding.
Alma had flown up to 130 miles from her eyrie in the Cairngorms national park, reaching as far north as Loch Maree in Wester Ross. She was found dead in deep heather, with her adult plumage beginning to appear from under her moulting juvenile feathers, Dennis said.
“We’re just terribly, terribly disappointed,” he said. “It’s just tragic because, as the months went by this bird became more and more interesting. Hundreds of people had been following her, and she is nationally known. It just beggars belief that she has been poisoned.
“It’s difficult enough to be an eagle anyway, but to have this extra burden is just appalling. I’m in favour of hunting but it has to be done ecologically and ethically, and this is totally unacceptable.”
Superintendent Ewen West, of Tayside police, said: ”The golden eagle was part of a project being undertaken by Scottish National Heritage. The bird was being continuously tracked and when her movements came to an abrupt stop at the beginning of July suspicions were raised that she had died. Sadly, she had been illegally poisoned.”
Golden eagles may be deliberately targeted by gamekeepers who want to stop any birds of prey eating grouse or pheasant, but the species normally fall prey to poisoned baits which are laid out on sporting estates to kill other birds of prey, including hen harriers, white-tailed eagles and buzzards.
Roseanna Cunningham, the Scottish environment minister, said: “I am truly appalled that yet another golden eagle has been illegally killed in Scotland – the second this summer. Illegal poisoning is simply inexcusable and while the perpetrators are certainly beneath contempt they are in no way above the law.
“Poisoning of course poses serious animal welfare risks, but these offences also damage Scotland’s tourism industry our economy and can even tarnish the reputations of those working in our countryside within the law.
“The fact this eagle was tagged and the Scottish public were actively engaged in its progress, only makes this case all the more galling. The loss of this magnificent animal is a real blow to Scotland, particularly as we are renowned world-wide for our incredible wildlife.”