343 



NOTES ON THE EAGLES OP THE LAKE DISTRICT. 



JOHN WATSON, 

 Fern Leigh, Kendal. 



No bird list has yet been published having reference to the area 

 comprehended in the above title.'"' And this is the more remarkable, 

 as the avi-fauna of the Lake District is, in some respects at least, 

 peculiarly rich. One or two local lists, valuable in their way, yet 

 extremely meagre, are scattered throughout various topographical 

 works, but no one has attempted hitherto to focus this matter, or 

 even to sift it. For a dozen years past we have been at pains to 

 bring together what has been already referred to, and to add from 

 our own personal knowledge facts connected with the geographical 

 distribution of the birds of the district. In doing this, it need hardly 

 be said that we have ignored political boundaries, nor that the dis- 

 trict referred to is a well-defined geographical area. Roughly speak- 

 ing there are five different geological formations, and the physical 

 constitution of the ground would seem in many cases to determine 

 the food supply. Certain species favour the smooth conical hills of 

 the soft Skiddaw slates, and the birds of prey have their haunts 

 among the rugged and splintery peaks of the Borrowdale series — 

 forming perhaps the grandest scenery in the district. And so, in 

 like manner, the smooth undulating hills of the Silurian system, the 

 scaurs of the carboniferous limestone, and the plains and gentler 

 undulations of the country occupied by the new red sandstone — ■ 

 these, the five great geological divisions of our local area, has each 

 its birds. Another fact w y hich must not be lost sight of, is the great 

 extent of sea-board, which stretches from the Solway Firth on the 

 Cumbrian coast, down to Morecambe Bay ; this fact adds to our 

 list a host of birds which feed upon sea-haunting creatures. 



It need hardly be said that in a mountainous country like the 

 Lake District, the Raptores are, and have ever been, the strong point 

 of its avi-fauna. This has been abundantly shown upon previous 

 occasions,t and we purpose now to reduce to something like order 

 some notes on the birds of this hitherto neglected district. 

 Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetus). Although there has been no 

 recent occurrence of the Golden Eagle, there can be no question 

 that at one time it commonly bred among the Lake mountains. 

 About fifty years ago (in 1837, as nearly as we can determine) 



* Since this was written, Messrs. Duckworth and Macpherson have published a 

 list of the Birds of Cumberland, with some notes on the Birds of Westmoreland. 



t Eagles' Haunts in the North of England, by John Watson ; Field, January 

 24th, 1885. 

 Nov. 1886. 



