Seton Gordon

He had been given his first half-plate camera at 17 and, like most of his possessions, it remained in service for many decades. A year later he took his first photo of a golden eagle eyrie in the Cairngorms and it was this species in particular that was to bring him world renown. Working with his wife, Audrey, he made 167 hours of observation, from a cramped and remote hide in the forest and with the ground breaking photographs produced ‘Days with the Golden Eagle’, published in 1927 and nearly thirty years later, he wrote his monograph ‘The Golden Eagle – King of Birds’.

Seton’s first book was ‘Birds of the Loch and Mountain’ which contained 90 of his photographs and was published in 1907 just before he went up to Oxford to study natural sciences. Many more books were to follow – twenty six in all - without exception to popular acclaim. He also wrote countless notes and articles in magazines and newspapers, nearly always about the Highlands and Islands, eloquently conveying as much about the myths,folklore and tradition as about wildlife. When war was declared in 1914, his poor hearing precluded him from active service, so he was sent to the Hebrides as a naval patrol officer. In 1915 he married a kindred spirit in Audrey with whom he had three children.

Despite his prodigious output as a lecturer, writer and journalist, Seton Gordon took time to encourage others. Adam Watson was only 9 when he first wrote to Seton, yethe took the time to respond to the child’s enthusiasm. “It is a fine thing for you to have a love of the hills because on the hills you find yourself near grand and beautiful things and as you grow older you will love them more and more” and they remained close friends thereafter.