Newsflash: The Captain is now old enough to start showing the signs of its gender - and apparently, he is a she. Therefore, I have made the necessary amendments to the following text. Apologies Ma'am!

As most of you will know, 23 Squadron is nicknamed ‘The Red Eagles’ and we have recently started sponsoring a Bateleur (Red) Eagle at the Raptor Foundation in Cambridgeshire.  The eagle has been named Captain Scarlet and it is hoped that she will be able to visit the Squadron at Waddington regularly.

One of our brave Flt Engineers has volunteered to help look after the Captain and is now attending lessons at the Foundation.  Our hero has already learnt how to care for a large bird of prey and has flown and fed her too. He said, “Handling Captain Scarlet was a real challenge.  She is a fairly large eagle and has immense power in her talons and beak.  Fortunately, she accepted me quite quickly and was happy to let me handle her.” 

The money to sponsor the eagle came from the Squadron charity fund, which is used to help local charities in Lincolnshire, including the Lincolnshire Air Ambulance.  The money is collected throughout the year by Squadron members.

The Bateleur eagle’s natural habitat is the savannah of sub-Saharan Africa.  They are one of the most beautiful of African raptors and are excellent flyers, noted for their aerobatics.  The eagle eats small mammals, birds and reptiles, including snakes.  They have long, black wings, with a wingspan of up to 5 feet.  Their legs and face are bright red and their backs are red-brown.  For this reason they can also be called red eagles.

Click on each photograph to see an enlarged version - please note that the files are quite large and may take a while to download.