What do you think?
Rate this book
The Eagle's Way
Eagles, more than any other bird, spark our imaginations. These magnificent creatures encapsulate the majesty and wildness of Scotland. But change is afoot for the eagles of Scotland: the golden eagles are now sharing the skies with sea eagles after a successful reintroduction programme. In this captivating account, Jim Crumley uses his years of observing these spectacular birds to paint an intimate portrait of their lives and how they interact with each other and the Scottish landscape.
Combining passion, beautifully descriptive prose and writer's twenty-five years of living, breathing and writing the landscape, The Eagle's Way explores the controversies surrounding these birds. What now for the eagles? And how will they transform our skies?
Combining passion, beautifully descriptive prose and writer's twenty-five years of living, breathing and writing the landscape, The Eagle's Way explores the controversies surrounding these birds. What now for the eagles? And how will they transform our skies?
214 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Jim Crumley
60 books51 followersJim Crumley is a Scottish nature writer with almost 20 books to his name, mostly on the landscape and wildlife of Scotland. He is renowned for his style - passionate, inspiring, visionary, sensitive, majestic - no work of his should be missed. He is also a columnist and presenter of radio programmes.
He has also received the accolade of '...the best nature writer now working in Great Britain...' from David Craig in the Los Angeles Times Book Review.
He has also received the accolade of '...the best nature writer now working in Great Britain...' from David Craig in the Los Angeles Times Book Review.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 29, 2022
The rural part of Scotland where I live is a location where eagles can occasionally be seen. I wouldn’t say they were exactly an everyday sighting but those who live here long enough will eventually catch a glimpse, even if like me they don’t often make a habit of looking. We have two types, the Golden Eagle and the White Tailed Eagle. The latter is more commonly known in Scotland as the Sea Eagle, the term that is used in this book. Sea Eagles were shot to extinction in Scotland in the 1910s but were reintroduced in the 1970s. It’s a close relative of the North American Bald Eagle.
The author of this book makes it clear that he is not a naturalist but a “nature writer”, and this book is not a scientific study. He makes an east-west traverse of Scotland from the Tay Estuary to the Isle of Mull and then onto the Isle of Skye, all the time observing eagles and relating stories of his past encounters with the birds. You could say that the book is as much about him as it is about the eagles, but he does convey his sense of wonder at the birds. I did learn a few things, particularly about the interaction of the two species. Some people feared that the reintroduction of the Sea Eagle would adversely affect the Golden Eagle, but the author highlights that prior to the 20th century, the two types co-existed for thousands of years. He also highlights one of the barriers to reintroduction. Young birds were taken from nests in Norway and brought to Scotland, but were thus deprived of the opportunity to learn hunting and other skills from their parents. Still, the Sea Eagle has done well since its reintroduction.
The author’s encounters with eagles are described in poetic language, with actual poetry thrown in from time to time. However once he gets away from the subject of wildlife, he comes over as a bit crusty, his complaints ranging from the amount of traffic in the Highlands in summer to visitors mispronouncing a Highland place name.
Eagles are undeniably impressive birds, a remarkable combination of elegance and power to which the author pays appropriate homage. At its best, the writing in this book is very good indeed, but this particular style of book isn’t quite a precise fit for me.
The author of this book makes it clear that he is not a naturalist but a “nature writer”, and this book is not a scientific study. He makes an east-west traverse of Scotland from the Tay Estuary to the Isle of Mull and then onto the Isle of Skye, all the time observing eagles and relating stories of his past encounters with the birds. You could say that the book is as much about him as it is about the eagles, but he does convey his sense of wonder at the birds. I did learn a few things, particularly about the interaction of the two species. Some people feared that the reintroduction of the Sea Eagle would adversely affect the Golden Eagle, but the author highlights that prior to the 20th century, the two types co-existed for thousands of years. He also highlights one of the barriers to reintroduction. Young birds were taken from nests in Norway and brought to Scotland, but were thus deprived of the opportunity to learn hunting and other skills from their parents. Still, the Sea Eagle has done well since its reintroduction.
The author’s encounters with eagles are described in poetic language, with actual poetry thrown in from time to time. However once he gets away from the subject of wildlife, he comes over as a bit crusty, his complaints ranging from the amount of traffic in the Highlands in summer to visitors mispronouncing a Highland place name.
Eagles are undeniably impressive birds, a remarkable combination of elegance and power to which the author pays appropriate homage. At its best, the writing in this book is very good indeed, but this particular style of book isn’t quite a precise fit for me.
June 28, 2019
This is superlative nature writing. The best I’ve read by a country mile. Jim Crumley’s life is steeped in nature and he writes from the heart, with intelligence and lyricism. I bought this book in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull while on holiday there last week. We had seen our first sea eagle / white-tailed eagle / erne and were thrilled by the experience. By the end of the week, we had seen several more as well as golden eagles. I wanted to learn about them.
Sea eagles and golden eagles were abundant in Scotland for thousands of years. Sadly, sea eagles were persecuted and hunted into extinction by our misguided forebears by 1918. Like wolves, they’d had a bad press. Landowners laid traps and/or shot them, they were hunted, and the Victorian enthusiasm for killing and stuffing wild animals also decimated their numbers. In 1975, a reintroduction programme began. Sea eagle chicks from Norway were brought to Rum in a project that lasted for ten years, followed by a further project in the 1990s. In 2007, the Tay estuary project began. In 1975, there were no sea eagles in Scotland. There are now hundreds of pairs and they will eventually outnumber golden eagles. This isn’t a problem. It’s just nature returning to its old ways.
Sea eagles continue to get a bad press. Only this year, a photograph was circulated in the media showing a sea eagle on Mull flying off with a tiny lamb in its talons. Farmers were outraged, saying it’s becoming a huge problem. Here we go again. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Unlike golden eagles, sea eagles are not great hunters. They are scavengers, stealing fish caught by other birds and otters; taking only lambs that are weak and will not survive, such as those that have had their eyes removed by crows. They have to eat and they have to feed their chicks. Like all wild animals, they are simply surviving. They are just being sea eagles.
Beautifully written and passionately argued, this is a cry from the heart to those who want to persecute sea eagles again. These are beautiful creatures who lived in their thousands in Scotland for thousands of years. Why wouldn’t we want them back?
An easy 5 stars from me. This is splendid writing.
Sea eagles and golden eagles were abundant in Scotland for thousands of years. Sadly, sea eagles were persecuted and hunted into extinction by our misguided forebears by 1918. Like wolves, they’d had a bad press. Landowners laid traps and/or shot them, they were hunted, and the Victorian enthusiasm for killing and stuffing wild animals also decimated their numbers. In 1975, a reintroduction programme began. Sea eagle chicks from Norway were brought to Rum in a project that lasted for ten years, followed by a further project in the 1990s. In 2007, the Tay estuary project began. In 1975, there were no sea eagles in Scotland. There are now hundreds of pairs and they will eventually outnumber golden eagles. This isn’t a problem. It’s just nature returning to its old ways.
Sea eagles continue to get a bad press. Only this year, a photograph was circulated in the media showing a sea eagle on Mull flying off with a tiny lamb in its talons. Farmers were outraged, saying it’s becoming a huge problem. Here we go again. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Unlike golden eagles, sea eagles are not great hunters. They are scavengers, stealing fish caught by other birds and otters; taking only lambs that are weak and will not survive, such as those that have had their eyes removed by crows. They have to eat and they have to feed their chicks. Like all wild animals, they are simply surviving. They are just being sea eagles.
Beautifully written and passionately argued, this is a cry from the heart to those who want to persecute sea eagles again. These are beautiful creatures who lived in their thousands in Scotland for thousands of years. Why wouldn’t we want them back?
An easy 5 stars from me. This is splendid writing.
April 7, 2022
Subtitled Nature's New Frontier in a Northern Landscape, this is Jim Crumley's study of eagles in Scotland.
He starts the story at the Tomb of the Eagles in Orkney, where he considers the age-old relationship between humans and eagles. Back in the day, sea eagles were much more common than golden eagles in the British Isles, and were revered by the folk who lived here in ancient times. Fortunes changed and the sea eagle became extinct in these islands in 1918. They were reintroduced in 1975 and have made something of a comeback since then. Crumley has travelled across Scotland searching for eagles and this book focuses on how these magnificent birds are faring today.
Crumley offers us insights into the ecology of both species of eagles and describes awe-inspiring encounters with eagles in the wild, as well as with other wildlife seen while searching for eagles. It is particularly heartening to read how people living on the island of Mull have really taken the sea eagles to their hearts and celebrate their presence (this may be partly due to the eagles bringing a huge boost to the island's economy by encouraging tourism).
The author is scathing about the opposition shown by some people to the idea of reintroducing sea eagles into our country:
"..how wide the gulf has become between our everyday lives and the everyday lives of nature, how impenetrable our lack of understanding has become since we annihilated the big predators. And now that a new predator has been restored to a landscape where we never expected to see it, because most of us never knew it had ever existed here, the truth is we don't know what to do with it or how to responds to it in a way that is relevant to the twenty first century rather than the nineteenth."
This is an interesting book for anyone who is interested in the wildlife of Scotland. My only criticism is that much of Crumley's writing is overly flowery. Some people love his style, but often it annoys me.
He starts the story at the Tomb of the Eagles in Orkney, where he considers the age-old relationship between humans and eagles. Back in the day, sea eagles were much more common than golden eagles in the British Isles, and were revered by the folk who lived here in ancient times. Fortunes changed and the sea eagle became extinct in these islands in 1918. They were reintroduced in 1975 and have made something of a comeback since then. Crumley has travelled across Scotland searching for eagles and this book focuses on how these magnificent birds are faring today.
Crumley offers us insights into the ecology of both species of eagles and describes awe-inspiring encounters with eagles in the wild, as well as with other wildlife seen while searching for eagles. It is particularly heartening to read how people living on the island of Mull have really taken the sea eagles to their hearts and celebrate their presence (this may be partly due to the eagles bringing a huge boost to the island's economy by encouraging tourism).
The author is scathing about the opposition shown by some people to the idea of reintroducing sea eagles into our country:
"..how wide the gulf has become between our everyday lives and the everyday lives of nature, how impenetrable our lack of understanding has become since we annihilated the big predators. And now that a new predator has been restored to a landscape where we never expected to see it, because most of us never knew it had ever existed here, the truth is we don't know what to do with it or how to responds to it in a way that is relevant to the twenty first century rather than the nineteenth."
This is an interesting book for anyone who is interested in the wildlife of Scotland. My only criticism is that much of Crumley's writing is overly flowery. Some people love his style, but often it annoys me.
August 10, 2023
Well-written and at times even poetic, but also (for me) quite boring at many times. It took me years to finish it, because after every chapter I'd put it down again as there was no urge to find out what happens next. Every chapter has somewhat the same set-up, describing at lenght places and landscapes which are hard to see in front of you if you're not familiair with the country. Sometimes it talks about placenames or people. Then there is a long description about the author's encounter with eagles in that landscape in an ever lyrical way. I understand the author's enthusiasm as I've enjoyed the same sight many times, which also explains why I got bored with the book. It's reading through someone's observation journal, while I was looking for some deeper layer and learn new things. There's some pieces of interesting information, but the book never becomes really informative. Maybe that was not the intention and I had false expectations, very well possible. Even so, some basic information would have framed the story so much better, and it wouldn't have hurt to scrap one of the dozen 'observation-retellings' for an introduction chapter about the behavior, life cycle, etc. of the two eagle species.
Still, for it's beautiful nature writing (this man is definitely gifted), this book deserves 3 stars.
Still, for it's beautiful nature writing (this man is definitely gifted), this book deserves 3 stars.
August 11, 2020
An incredible reading experience on eagles in Scotland, specifically sea eagles and golden eagles and their relationship in Scotland. A fascinating book that has been well researched and Crumley’s love of nature and eagles comes through in his writing. One of the best nature books I have read. Easily accessible and whilst a quick read it is a thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing one, and one I will come back to again for the evocative portrayal of the Scottish landscape and the birds that soar above it.
October 16, 2022
Very interesting. But skirted round some of the important issues
Well written, but I do wish he wouldn't mention wolves every other paragraph.
Well written, but I do wish he wouldn't mention wolves every other paragraph.
August 9, 2023
Such a fabulous read. Poetic, life-affirming stuff. Jim Crumley is so fantastically adept at expressing the beauty of the natural world.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews