Days with the Golden Eagle

Writer and photographer, Seton Gordon, wrote 27 books over a period of several decades and most of these focused on the landscape and wildlife of the Highlands. Of all these books, one of the most acclaimed was Days with the Golden Eagle. Seton Gordon was among the first to observe in some detail – through countless hours in his hide – the daily life of this magnificent bird and to present in his books an account of their habitat, diet and behaviour. But his writing was much more than that – his books are interwoven with acute observation and his narrative possesses a clarity that ensures the reader sees as much as Seton Gordon himself saw. From life day to day on the eyrie, through the different Scottish landscapes and the interaction of the eagles with other wildlife – it is all covered, and all in his inimitable style:’The eagle as she broods on her eyrie in this country of wild primeval forest has an inspiring view. She looks across to the high tops and sees the early morning sun flood the snowy slopes with rosy light. She hears from the forest below her the soft bubbling notes of the amorous blackcock at their fighting-ground, and the wild clarion call of the missel-thrush as he greets the April dawn. Other sounds she hears: the hoarse bark of a hind, the curious sneezing cry of a capercaillie on some pine tree, the distant melody of curlew and golden plover on the brown moorland, the becking of a cock grouse as he shakes the frosty dew from his plumage. I remember once spending a night beside an eagle at the eyrie and seeing the first sun-flush burn upon her golden head, so that it was no longer golden but deep rose coloured; and so I like to picture that lonely eyrie on many calm, sunny days when spring is young and when all the life of the lonely upland places is commencing slowly to stir to the increasing power of the sun.’

Reviews of Days with the Golden Eagle

'Days with the Golden Eagle is a book that fully deserves a reprint. …The author and his books were an inspiration to me and countless others who have been transported by his descriptive writing into Scotland's wild lands, to witness, often in close detail, the home life of our most spectacular raptor. The true value of this book is that it introduces new generations of readers not only to the Golden Eagle and its home but also to the other creatures that share these special places. …Readers will surely be encouraged to tread the hills, seek the secrets, and feel the magic. Maybe even more important the book will instil a love of nature that bestows a strong feeling of guardianship for all wildlife that lives in these remote areas. …Seton Gordon died in 1977 but I am sure for as long as eagles fly his books will be avidly read'. John Muir Trust Journal ——————– 'This could well turn out to be the most important book of the year, as it will bring one of the best nature writers in Scotland to a new audience. Whilst the text is in many ways as fresh and stimulating as the day it was written, the photographs are equally outstanding. …the close-up of the head and upper neck of the juvenile golden eagle on the front cover and the frontispiece has a haunting quality that seems to imprint on the mind…The text is sometimes unbelievable in its impact such as the lines, There was no breeze in the old pine forest, and the ancient, heavy crowned trees seemed to hold their green branches eagerly towards the strong sunlight. Who writes like this these days and who has that depth of feeling that comes out in the lines so often it is almost mesmerising? Much of what the author describes is still there but perhaps we do not look in the same way any more'.Highland News