Where to see eagles in the Cairngorms National Park

There are wildlife sightings in the Cairngorms that stop you in your tracks and seeing a golden eagle soaring high above a Highland glen is definitely one of them.

The Cairngorms National Park is one of Scotland's strongholds for golden eagles, with vast areas of open moorland, mountain and remote glens providing exactly the sort of habitat these magnificent birds need.

They are here all year round, but they're elusive, wide ranging and never guaranteed. That is, of course, part of the magic.

Here's where to look, what to look for and how to give yourself the best chance of spotting an eagle during your stay.

Golden eagles in the Cairngorms

Golden eagles are impressive birds. Their wingspan can reach around 2.2 metres and adults are predominantly dark brown with the golden feathers around the head and neck that give them their name.

Rather than constantly beating their wings, you'll often see them using rising air currents to soar above the landscape. In flight, look for long, broad wings held in a shallow V and a relatively long tail.

The Cairngorms are particularly important for the species. Golden eagles favour wild, open upland and mountainous landscapes, and much of the Cairngorms mountain range is recognised as being of European importance for them.

Their territories can be enormous so eagle watching here is much more about scanning the landscape than heading for one particular spot.

Where can you see golden eagles in the Cairngorms?

There is never any guarantee, but there are several parts of the National Park where the landscape gives you a reasonable chance.

Findhorn Valley

Perhaps the best known is Strathdearn, or the Findhorn Valley, which has long had a reputation for birds of prey.

The long, open glen and surrounding mountain landscape make this a wonderful place for wildlife watching. Find yourself a good public vantage point, bring binoculars and spend some time scanning the ridges and sky rather than constantly moving on.

Even without an eagle sighting, it's a spectacular place to spend a few hours.

Glen Feshie

The huge landscapes around Glen Feshie provide another opportunity to keep watch overhead.

This is classic golden eagle country: mountains, open moorland and a sense of space that makes it easy to understand why these birds thrive here.

Glenlivet and the Ladder Hills

The landscapes around Glenlivet and the Ladder Hills are another good area to keep your eyes on the sky.

Golden eagles hunt across these uplands, where mountain hare, grouse and other prey can be found. Combine eagle watching with a walk and you may spot plenty of other wildlife along the way too.

Glenmore and the northern Cairngorms

Golden eagles are also seen around Glenmore and the northern Cairngorms.

If you're walking in the area, particularly where the forest gives way to open mountain and moorland, remember to look up occasionally. It is surprisingly easy to spend an entire walk admiring the landscape at eye level and miss what's happening above you.

Deeside and the eastern Cairngorms

The eastern side of the National Park is important eagle territory too.

Around Deeside, Mar Lodge Estate and the wider eastern Cairngorms, golden eagles are part of an extraordinary mix of Highland wildlife. Further south, Glen Doll and Corrie Fee are also places where you may be lucky enough to spot a golden eagle overhead.

When is the best time to see golden eagles?

Golden eagles live in the Cairngorms throughout the year so there isn't really an eagle watching season.

Conditions can make a difference, though. Calm, clear days can make birds easier to spot as they soar above ridges and mountainsides.

Rather than concentrating only on early morning or evening, give yourself time. Find somewhere with a wide view of the surrounding landscape, stop walking for a while and scan the skyline slowly with binoculars.

Patience is probably your most useful piece of eagle watching equipment.

Golden eagle or buzzard?

This is where things become interesting.

Buzzards are much more commonly seen and, at a distance, a large bird circling overhead can immediately raise hopes of an eagle.

Size is surprisingly difficult to judge when there's nothing nearby for comparison, so look at the shape instead.

A golden eagle has long, broad wings, pronounced fingered wingtips and a relatively long tail. When soaring, the wings are often held in a shallow V.

Buzzards are smaller and more compact, with shorter wings and a shorter, rounded tail.

And if your first thought is simply, that's enormous, it's probably worth getting the binoculars out.

What about white tailed eagles?

Golden eagles aren't the only eagles you might encounter in the Cairngorms.

White tailed eagles, sometimes called sea eagles, are Britain's largest bird of prey and have a wingspan that can reach around 2.5 metres.

Once extinct in Britain, they were successfully reintroduced to Scotland and are gradually recolonising parts of their former range. They have now successfully bred within the Cairngorms National Park too.

White tailed eagles tend to be associated more closely with lochs, rivers and lower ground than golden eagles. Adults are enormous, with very broad wings and the distinctive white tail that gives the species its name.

A sighting remains something rather special but these days it isn't impossible.

How to improve your chances

You don't need specialist equipment, but binoculars will make a huge difference. A spotting scope can be useful if you're planning to stay in one place for a while.

Choose somewhere with a wide view across a glen, hillside or ridge and spend time watching rather than constantly walking.

And don't become so focused on finding an eagle that you miss everything else. The same landscapes are home to red deer, mountain hare, peregrines, merlins, red grouse and, higher in the mountains, ptarmigan.

If seeing a golden eagle is high on your wish list, consider booking a day with a local wildlife guide. Experienced guides know how to read the landscape, identify distant birds and choose suitable viewing areas without disturbing wildlife.

Watch responsibly

Golden eagles and white tailed eagles are protected birds and their nesting sites should never be approached or disturbed.

There's no need to seek out an eyrie to see an eagle. These birds travel across enormous territories and the best experience is watching them naturally from a respectful distance.

Stick to public access, follow any local signs or seasonal guidance, keep dogs under close control around wildlife and never use information about nesting locations to try to get closer to a bird.

And if you don't see one?

That's wildlife watching.

You can spend hours scanning the Cairngorms sky and see nothing larger than a raven then catch sight of an eagle when you least expect it.

And that's probably how it should be.

The places where golden eagles live are some of the wildest and most beautiful landscapes in the National Park. A day spent exploring Glen Feshie, the Findhorn Valley or the eastern Cairngorms is hardly wasted because an eagle decided not to make an appearance.

But when you finally see that unmistakable shape soaring high above a ridge, you'll understand why people remember their first Cairngorms eagle for years afterwards.