Ringing a Golden Eagle chick
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| A four-week old Golden Eagle chick with a wonderful view from its eyrie. What an entrance to the world. |
Yesterday I was up helping members of the Highland Raptor Study Group ring a Golden Eagle chick in an eyrie which I found a few days before. The eyrie was in an old Scots Pine, set about twelve metres up on the main stem where the branches split into a multi-fork. This presented a bit of difficulty in climbing up to the nest, but Brian Etheridge rose to the challenge.
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| Brian negotiates a route up over the eyrie |
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| The eyrie was about two metres deep and two metres wide |
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| Adam with the chick, a strong, well-fed male. |
For safety, the chick was lowered from the tree in a bag and ringed on the ground. Adam Ritchie ringed it as he had only done a a couple before, and putting on the extra-strong rings takes a bit of practice. The chick was a strong, healthy male, readily sexed by his relatively small feet and quiet nature. Females are larger with big strong legs and feet, and they are usually much more aggressive.
