For over forty years, between 1969 and 2016, Haweswater and the Riggindale valley were the last habitats in England of the golden eagle, and a place of pilgrimage for people who wanted to come and bear witness. When the elderly female was found dead in 2004 (at a remarkable 28 years of age), the male continued performing dizzying sky dives each spring in a fruitless attempt to attract a new mate. The spectacle became increasingly poignant over the next twelve years, as other golden eagles remained firmly north of the English border. With the male’s disappearance (and presumed death) in 2016, not ...

 

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