EAGLES ON AN ENGLISH LAKE 267 



One famous lake near our East Coast has been 

 haunted by sea eagles since the year 1860. During the 

 last twenty-five years it is believed that the eagles have 

 paid more than fourteen visits to these waters, and 

 remained not for a day or two, but for weeks and 

 months. Their appearance is so well known in that 

 neighbourhood that it has become part of the folk-lore 

 of the district. Contrary to ancient belief, the eagles' 

 visits are held to be unlucky, and facts are quoted to 

 prove it. Omens from birds are proverbially ambiguous 

 and uncertain, but the existence of this belief is itself 

 evidence of the frequency and permanence of these 

 eagle visits. On one occasion two eagles remained from 

 the autumn to the early months of the following spring. 

 They were frequently seen soaring high over the 

 mansion, and it was noticed that one was smaller than 

 the other. Generally the eagles come singly. The 

 time of their arrival is usually in October, and their 

 stay is commonly protracted until after Christmas. 

 The birds are always of the white-tailed species, not 

 golden eagles. But as the former are quite as large as 

 the latter, the source from which such a voracious and 

 formidable creature finds a living easily enough to keep 

 it for months near an English country house is not at 

 first obvious. The character of the lake explains this 

 in part. It is situated in a very large park of more 

 than three thousand acres, some of which is cultivated, 



