BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

wildlifewillbeadverselyaffected.Tim

referstostudiesonmainlandEurope

thatshowwhite-tailedeagleshaveno

harmfulimpactonanynativespecies.

Headdsthat,intheNetherlands,eagles

havehelpedtocontrolnumbersofferal

greylagandCanadageesebytakingthe

goslings.Byremovingthesecompetitors,

theeaglescouldactuallybebenefitting

nativewildfowl.

TheLowCountrieswereofspecial

interesttoTimandRoyDennisduring

theirresearch.Beingdenselypopulated,

withintensiveagriculture,theregionis

comparabletothesouthofEngland.The

pairwereencouragedbywhatthey

found.“Oneeaglenestwasjustoutside

Rotterdam,”Timsays.“Wewerelooking

atit fromthehardshoulderofa busy

motorway.”Asthemixofspeciesin

theNetherlandsis alsoverysimilar

toEngland,it gaveTimandDennis

a goodideaofhoweaglesmightfitin

afterrelease.

Gettingonwiththeneighbours

Buckingthetrendforwildlifedeclines,

mainlandEurope’swhite-tailedeagles

arebooming.Germanyhasgettingonfor

700 breedingpairs;Poland,wherethe

raptoris reveredasthenationalbird,has

a phenomenal1,500pairs.Scandinavia

alsohashighdensities.“Theoverriding

viewontheContinentis thattheseeagles

aresimplypartofthecountryside,”says

Tim.“AttitudesaredifferentinEngland,

hough,aswedon’thavea recenthistory

ofsuchlargeraptors.”

Convincingscepticallandowners

ontheIsleofWight,wherethereare

tensofthousandsofsheepandtwo

farmswithoutdoorturkeys,aswellas

shootingestateswithpheasantsand

partridges,wasalwaysgoingtobethe

reintroductionprogramme’stoughest

test.Whenwhite-tailedeagleswere

returnedtoIrelandin 2007 using

Tree:

Nc

Dav

es;

1968:

rspb-

mages.com;

Forestry

Eng

and

x4

1780 LastEnglishpair

breedatCulverCli, Isle

ofWight.

1901 ExtinctinIreland.

1918 LastScottishbird

shotinShetland;extinct

inBritain.

1959  68 Failed

reintroductionattempts

atArgyllandFairIsle.

1975  8582 Norwegian

chicksreintroducedtoIsle

ofRum,InnerHebrides.

1985 Firstsuccessful

breeding,onnearbyIsle

ofMull.

2007  1285 Norwegian

chicksreintroducedtoFife,

onScotland’seastcoast.

2007  11100 Norwegian

chicksreintroducedto

CountyKerry,Ireland.

2015 Scottishpopulation

reaches 106 breedingpairs,

plusjuvenilesandnon-

breedingadults.

2019 SixScottishchicks

takentoIsleofWight.

2020  24 Further

releases(upto 54 birds)

plannedonIsleofWight.

2025 Firstbreedingin

southernEngland?

Clockwisefrom

above:goingto

greatheightsto

collectthebirds;

healthchecks

werecarriedout

beforerelease;

oneofthepricey

transmitters.

Carrionisavital

partoftheyoung

eagles’diet.

RoyDennisFairIsle

reintroduction,1968.

46 BBC Wildlife April 2020

WHITE-TAILED EAGLES

TIMELINE

White-tailed eagles

in the British isles.