Record breeding year for England's white-tailed eagles as three chicks fledge

Western Telegraph

2 days ago

Conservationists said a record three chicks fledged from two wild nests, including the first chick in Dorset for 240 years, as well as two youngsters raised in a nest in Sussex.
The successful breeding attempts by two pairs of white-tailed eagles brings the total born in the wild through the reintroduction project to six.
White-tailed eagles are the UK's biggest bird of prey and are nicknamed 'flying barn doors' (Alamy/PA)
White-tailed eagles – nicknamed flying barn doors because of their wingspan of up to 8ft (2.4m) – were once widespread in southern England until the 18th century when persecution led to them being wiped out in the region.
A project by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation began reintroducing white-tailed eagles on the Isle of Wight in 2019, to bring back a long-lost species to the skies of southern England.
The birds, which are the UK's largest bird of prey, have previously been successfully reintroduced in Scotland.
Some 45 young white-tailed eagles have been released as part of the English scheme, including eight birds released this summer from the team's base on the Isle of Wight, which provides good habitat for the wetland and coast-loving species.
The birds reach breeding age at around four or five years old, and three pairs released by the scheme have formed and established territories in southern England, the team behind the project said.
In 2023, a single chick was born – the first in England since the 17th century – and two more were born in the summer of 2024, to the same parents, who have gone on to breed successfully again in Sussex this year.
It was an incredible moment when we caught our first glimpse of that tiny fluffy chick in the nest Steve Egerton-Read, Forestry England
Steve Egerton-Read, white-tailed eagle project officer for Forestry England, said the team had been monitoring the nests for months, describing it as 'such an exciting time but also incredibly nerve-racking'.
'This was especially the case for the pair of eagles in Dorset who were first time parents,' he said.
'It was an incredible moment when we caught our first glimpse of that tiny fluffy chick in the nest, but equally, it is an anxious time as the parents get to grips with what they need to do.'
He said it was 'so rewarding' to see the pair of eagles, which are often spotted around Dorset, care for the chick through to fledging, adding he hoped one day the youngster would itself breed in England.
And he said: 'Returning lost species like the white-tailed eagle is a key part of Forestry England's approach to restoring biodiversity and helping nature to recover.
'We hope that in years to come these iconic birds will become a much, much more common sight, inspiring future generations and deepening their connection with nature.'
This is a long-term project, and it will take some years before the population is fully restored but the progress made over the last year has been incredibly encouraging Roy Dennis
Roy Dennis, founder of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, said: 'We are delighted to see another year of successful breeding and that two pairs have now reached this key stage.
'This is a long-term project, and it will take some years before the population is fully restored but the progress made over the last year has been incredibly encouraging.
'We have some well-established pairs and two that are actively breeding,' he said.
'We hope to build on this progress, and I'm really pleased that we have been able to release an additional eight birds this year to further boost the population.'
It is hoped that in time, a population of six to 10 breeding pairs will become established within 60km (40 miles) of the release site on the Isle of Wight.
Conservationists said some of the younger released birds are present in potential breeding areas, typically close to freshwater wetlands or the coast where they can source their preferred prey of fish.
White-tailed eagles live in wetlands and coastal areas where they can catch their preferred prey (Alamy/PA)
A study into the food they are eating in the region shows they are targeting prey such as cuttlefish, rabbits, fish and other birds, and there are 'no conflicts' with farming, despite concerns in some quarters that the birds could prey on livestock such as lambs.
In 2022, two released white-tailed eagles were found dead, prompting police investigations in Dorset, which ended after tests on the bird were found to be 'inconclusive', and on the Isle of Wight, where no evidence of an illegal act was found, though the presence of rat poison brodifacoum was found in both.
The chicks are all fitted with satellite tags so that the project team can track their progress.