The Golden Eagle

Even as a young boy, I was fascinated by the stories my grandfather told me during our mountain tours about the majestic bird that lived high up in the mountains. With my height of about 135 centimeters at the time, its wingspan of over two meters seemed quite imposing and, in a way, somewhat frightening. Although I am now half a meter taller than I was back then, my fascination for the golden eagle remains the same.

The King of the Skies

If you can cross an entire valley with a single flap of your wings, then you are truly a king of the skies.

I photographed the eagle in the summer of 2011 in the mountains above Lago di Lei. My wife and I were ascending Piz della Palù (3,179 m) at an altitude of almost 3,000 meters when suddenly the enormous bird took off from the rocks a few meters above us. Fortunately, I already had my camera ready and was able to capture it before it circled over the peaks on the other side of the valley just moments later.

Hunted, Hated, and Nearly Eradicated

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the golden eagle was heavily persecuted throughout Europe. It was seen as a competitor for food, which severely decimated its populations and led to its complete disappearance in many regions. In the lowlands and low mountain ranges, it was eradicated. In our latitudes, the mountains have become its last refuge. Since the 1950s, the golden eagle has been strictly protected. Austria is now home to around 300–400 breeding pairs, while only about 50 breeding pairs remain in the Bavarian Alps.