Autumn is of course a time of wonderful colour weigh around six kilos, no doubt as a result of all the
changes in the Highlands. We don’t have so many offal we leave on the hill for them when we cull our
trees, but those we do have, generally put on a brave deer. I’ve seen eagles devour the haunches of a dead
display. Trembling birch and aspen leaves turn gold deer in a matter of hours. When that happens, they’re
and quickly flutter away with the wind. The heather so full of food they can scarcely waddle, let alone fly.
on the hill turns from vibrant purple to shaggy red, Autumn is very often the time when we experience
while bracken fades from green to russet brown. all four seasons in one. I don’t know whether it’s a
We’re planting a lot of native trees at Alladale so result of global warming or not, but it’s clear that
hopefully, in years to come, there will be a lot more Highland weather has changed over the past 10 years.
subtle colour variations in the landscape. Last year we had a significant snowfall in October.
Autumn is the time for some birds to come and There was four to five inches on the low ground and
others to go. The last of the migrating species, the 10 or 12 up on the high ground, but it was all gone
swifts, swallows and house martins disappear, while within 48 hours. In November we’ve experienced
in the early signs that winter is not far off, we see the bright sunshine closely followed by snow and hail,
arrival of the first of the snow buntings, red wings high winds and very heavy rainfall, so much so that
and fieldfares. we’re now seeing quite savage flash floods. We now
Two pairs of golden eagles continue to hunt over have much bigger floods than we have had in a very
Alladale’s ground although I regret to report that long time. I’ve seen our rivers rise six to eight feet in
we’ve not yet had any sight of their chicks. They are the space of 24 hours. Although we now experience
magnificent birds with wingspans of at least two that kind of savage event several times a year, old
metres, but I’m afraid they may be getting on a bit. stalkers in the glen say they’d not seen but one like it
Once golden eagles reach an age when they can no in 40 years. After events like that we almost welcome
longer reproduce they don’t just fly off into the sunset. winter’s quiet embrace.
They can live up to 25 years and they can be quite
In the final instalment of A Year in the Highlands,
aggressive toward other younger eagles that might
Innes MacNeill writes about the wonders of winter at
try to intrude on their territory. Our eagles probably
Alladale.
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