Golden Eagle in Wharfedale Yorkshire (1 Viewer)

[RiverRatJimmy]

I have just come back from a walking/camping trip near Appletreewick.
At around 7am this morning above we were walking over Appletreewick common. On the way up there we saw, a sparrow hawk and a buzzard.
While we were descending back down to Appletreewick a massive bird of prey took off about 30 feet in front of us, it was a brown colour and must have had a 7 foot wingspan. It was certainly bigger than me!
I am 95% sure it was a Golden Eagle, but unfortunately couldn't get a picture. Has there been any other sightings or reports?

 

[Sangahyando]

Couldn't it have been a young White-tailed Eagle, though? I'm not entirely up to date which one is more (un-)likely in your area.

 

[halftwo]

Hi Jimmy.

Try posting this in the Yorkshire thread & see if anyone responds - there's nowt there at the moment though - & I'm sure there would be a thread if anyone had seen any eagle in Yorkshire.

 

[Keith Dickinson]

White tailed eagle would be the more unlikely - plus they are not just big when seen close to, they are absolutely humungous according to a colleagues report.
Golden eagle - not sure about the Hawes bird so can't really comment but they are also pretty big.
Wingspan mentioned is within both species range and roughly double buzzard's so if I had to pick one I'd go with Golden Eagle as the more likely suspect.

 

[Nutcracker]

Escaped falconer's eagle / vulture? Probably more likely than a wild individual of either White-tailed or Golden Eagles, and would account for the bird's minimal fear of people (this area is bandit country for raptor protection, raptors up there will have to be very timid to survive).

 

[Ratal]

Synchronisity: I was just about to post this - Friends working in Kettlewell and asked me if there are Golden Eagles about down that way.
She described it well, and I'd of have to had said Goldie.

 

[RiverRatJimmy]

I read reports about an escaped Russian eagle in the area from last year, but I think it was found in Blackpool.

 

[Allen S. Moore]

Wan't there a report of a golden eagle in Nidderdale, not so far from Wharfedale, a few decades ago? Of course, that report might have been discredited since then.

 

[Amarillo]

If I was only 95% sure I'd discount it. Buzzards can look pretty big sometimes.

 

[jpoyner]

Eagle Owl? There are a few of those wandering about.

 

[RiverRatJimmy]

It was certainly not a buzzard Amarillo, we spotted a sparrow hawk and a buzzard in the same morning and this was 2 times the size of them at least. I guess at 7-8 foot wingspan.
Plus if 2 groups of people have described the same thing?

 

[Mark Lew1s]

I think WTE is probably just as likely as GE, with wandering young from the various reintroduction schemes. That said, the prospect of it being an escapee is also very real, so unfortunately it should probably just go down as 'one that got away'. Shame, but probably quite an enjoyable sighting all the same!

 

[John92]

Golden Eagle in Wharfedale

We have just got back from walking along Toller Beck near Appletreewick and can confirm the sighting of aGoldn Eagle. We clearly saw the marking on the wings (above and below) body colour etc. It soared over us and around the narrow valley for several minutes.

 

[Mike Crawley]

We have just got back from walking along Toller Beck near Appletreewick and can confirm the sighting of aGoldn Eagle. We clearly saw the marking on the wings (above and below) body colour etc. It soared over us and around the narrow valley for several minutes.

I'm sure the relevant County Recorder will be desperately keen to receive even the briefest of notes regarding this sighting.

 

[geoff dobbs]

We have just got back from walking along Toller Beck near Appletreewick and can confirm the sighting of aGoldn Eagle. We clearly saw the marking on the wings (above and below) body colour etc. It soared over us and around the narrow valley for several minutes.

Did you ever send in description details to the YNU. See their website. Am editing the 2015 Yorkshire Bird Report and trawling records. Don't think there has been an acceptable sighting of a wild bird since Lake District pair last produced young in 1996.

 

[Dicky123]

I have just come back from a walking/camping trip near Appletreewick.
At around 7am this morning above we were walking over Appletreewick common. On the way up there we saw, a sparrow hawk and a buzzard.
While we were descending back down to Appletreewick a massive bird of prey took off about 30 feet in front of us, it was a brown colour and must have had a 7 foot wingspan. It was certainly bigger than me!
I am 95% sure it was a Golden Eagle, but unfortunately couldn't get a picture. Has there been any other sightings or reports?

I'm sure I've seen a golden eagle today in black Carr wood near Pudsey, Leeds...three times the size of a buzzard

 

[Farnboro John]

I'm sure I've seen a golden eagle today in black Carr wood near Pudsey, Leeds...three times the size of a buzzard

Which dimension of a Golden Eagle is 3x that of the equivalent on a Buzzard?

John

 

[dantheman]

Probably just a Lammergeier ...

 

[Dicky123]

Which dimension of a Golden Eagle is 3x that of the equivalent on a Buzzard?

John

It's a figure of speech to indicate that it was very large...

 

[dantheman]

It's a figure of speech to indicate that it was very large...

It's more likely to be an escaped eagle or other related large raptor than a genuine wild Golden Eagle but you never know.

3x larger may well fit in terms of weight or bulk of course.

Welcome to BF by the way.