The golden eagle is largest eagle in Spain, with a wingspan measuring between 1.8 and 2.3 metres.
SEO/BirdLife explain that the country is home to one of the largest population of these raptors in Europe.
The ornithological society states that there have been recent increases in the numbers of these majestic birds ‘in most of the areas it inhabits’ in Iberia.
They estimate that there are around 2,000 breeding pairs and between 2,000 and 3,000 non-reproducing individuals in Spain.
The golden eagle inhabits many of the mountains ranges of the country, as well as ‘mountainous or broken ground’.
Its range reaches from the Mediterranean coast to Extremadura in the south and Galicia in the north.
Adults are mostly brown, with lighter feathers on the head and neck which look golden in the sunlight.
Most of the breeding pairs can be found in the Pyrenees and the foothills of this mountain range; along the Ebro river valley; the mountain ranges of the north east and centre including the Montes de Toledo; and further south in the Sierra Morena.
The ornothologists explain that there are two sub-species of the golden eagle in Spain; the ‘chrysaetos’ in the Pyrenees and the ‘homeyeri’ in the rest of the Iberian Peninsula.
The raptor has a varied diet, ranging from ‘a great variety of mammals’ including rabbits and hares, other birds (mainly pigeons and partridges) and reptiles. It also eats carrion.
And while breeding pairs remain in the same area, younger birds fly off to explore other zones.
They nest in niches on cliffs and rock walls; and more rarely in the tops of tall trees, notes SEO/BirdLife.
“Each pair will have two or three nesting platforms which they use alternatively during the season,” they state.
In mountainous areas the birds have been known to make nests as high as 2,200 metres above sea level.
Areas are closed off in some protected parks in Spain during the golden eagle breeding season.
The Murcia regional government explained that it shuts parts of two trails in the Sierra Espuña from January 1 to June 30.
This is to ‘help with the reproduction of the golden eagle’.
The reproduction cycle begins at the end of January, says SEO/BirdLife.
Eggs (between one and three) are laid from the end of February to the end of March.
They are incubated by the female for between 41 and 45 days.
Their conservation status is ‘almost threatened’.
SEO/BirdLife states that the golden eagle ‘almost fulfills the criteria to be classified in a higher level of threat’ and this could occur in the near future.
This is due to the loss of habitat due to the construction of infrastructure, public works and housing estates.
They note that golden eagles have also been shot, poisoned or have failed to reproduce because their nests have been spoiled or the eggs stolen.
Other birds have been found electrocuted by power cables.
“However, the expansion of the golden eagle is being favoured by a change in attitude which is benefitting young breeding pairs, who are starting to nest in habitats which have been changed or altered by human actions,” says SEO/BirdLife.
Facts from the Scottish Wildlife Trust
The golden eagle can also catch foxes, young deer and large birds like grouse. It is even used to hunt and kill wolves in some communities
They have large home territories; their nests are often used by successive generations to rear their own young. Golden eagles pair for life
The golden eagle is the national bird of Germany, Austria, Mexico and Kazakhstan. It is revered in many countries, forming the basis of everything from coats of arms to spiritual customs
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