Golden Eagle

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☞ By Katrina Tracuma – View more here

The primary reference image for the portrait of this Golden Eagle was taken at the National Museum of Natural History in Dublin. Capturing the soulful gaze of this bird of prey, unnaturally up close as refracted through its stuffed carcass. With a wingspan ranging from 1.8m to 2.3m this intimate encounter is made even more unusual by the high saturation of colours portrayed within its plumage. Currently holding a Red conservation status in Ireland, these birds with golden heads are widespread but nowhere common in Continental Europe. They have been reintroduced into County Donegal to re-establish an Irish breeding population, after being extirpated in the 18th Century. Around 400 pairs also breed in Scotland. These raptors actively hunt a wide variety of larger birds, mammals, and will also eat carrion. In the view of most palaeontologists, avifauna are considered to be some of the closest modern day creatures to dinosaurs. Encountering these predators offers us a gaze into prehistoric times, while cautioning us to release our chokehold on encircling their peaceful existence in our environment.