BENHOAREis editorialconsultant
forBBCWildlife. Hislatestbookis
Wonders of Nature (DK, £20).Above:a redkite
andbuzzardshare
airspacewitha
youngeagle.The
juvenileslearnhow
toscavengefor
foodbycopying
other birds of prey.“I’vemetlandownerswho
hadnoideatherewasan
eagleroostingbehind
their house.”
donorchicksfromNorway,aftergoing
extincta centuryearlier,hostilesheep
farmersstagedangrydemonstrations;
sincethen,morethana dozenIrishbirds
havediedfrompoisoning.
Remarkably,theinitialcriticismappearsto
haveebbedaway.“Itis wonderfultoseeearly
signsofsuccessinthisproject,”saysAndrew
Gilruth,DirectorofCommunicationsatthe
GameandWildlifeTrust,whichrepresents
theshootingandhuntingcommunity.“We
mustcongratulatethoseinvolved...southern
Englandhasenormouspotentialtosupport
thereintroductionofraptorsalongside
existinglanduse.”
WhenNaturalEnglandissuedthe
reintroductionlicence,it insistedthatin
therestofEuropetherewasnoevidence
thatwhite-tailedeaglespreyedonlambson
lowlandsheepfarms. Do local farmers now
accept this view?“Tobehonest,weweren’twonover,”
saysMattLegge,whofarmsontheIsle
ofWightandis CountyChairmanofthe
NationalFarmers’Union.“Wewerea biton
edge.Stillare.”Mattsaysfarmersaremost
concernedaboutwhatwillhappenwhenthe
eaglesreachmaturity,atfiveorsixyears,
andstarthuntingmoreproficientlytofeed
theiryoung.Heis reassured,however,that
thelicencerequiresany“problem”birdsto
berecapturedandmoved,addingtherehave
beennoproblemssofar.
Mattsitsonthereintroductionproject’s
steeringgroup,andTimMackrillandSteve
Egerton-Readstressthe“hugeefforts”
toengagelandownersandthefarming
community.Intheend,though,thesuccess
todatemayasmuchbedowntotheeagles
themselves– specifically,theirelusiveness.
Mattsayshestillhasn’tspotted them; hardly
anyone else has, either.FINDOUTMOREKeepintouchwith
theprojectatroydennis.org. Eagleupdates
arealsopostedonInstagram and Twitter at
@SeaEagleEngland.Forsuchenormousbirds,theyhave
provedadeptatmeltingintothelandscape.
“I’vemeta coupleoflandownerswhohad
noideatherewasaneagleroostingbehind
theirhouse,”Stevesays.It is astonishing
thatoneofthewider-rangingeagles
(knownas‘G3-93’)managedtohunker
down,avoidthetelescopesandbinoculars
ofBritain’sarmyofbirdwatchers,and
liveinOxfordshireforseveralmonths
virtuallyunseen.
Beforelong,thisyear’swhite-tailed
eaglebreedingseasonwillbeunderway
inScotland,andnestsurveyswilldictate
howmanychickscansafelyberemoved
tothepensontheIsleofWight.Withina
fewdecades,severaldozeneaglescouldbe
raisingyounginsouthernEngland.If the
speciesspreadsitswings,areasripefor
naturalcolonisationincludeCornwall,
EastAngliaandtheSomerset Levels.
The eagle has landed.70
White-tailedeagle
talonsfoundatTombof
the Eagles, Orkney.3.5 5kg
4 7kg
Weight of adult male.Weight of adult female.9,000
–12,300
Estimatednumber
ofbreedingpairsin
Europe in 2015.>20
BritishRomansites
whereeagleboneshave
beenfound,including
Droitwich,Leicester
and Southwark.April 2020 BBC Wildlife 47
WHITE-TAILED EAGLES