Twenty eagles with wingspans stretching up to two-and-a-half-metres are set to soar over Devon once again.
The white-tailed eagles, also known as sea eagles, will be released at Exmoor National Park over a three year period as part of a major rewilding project.
The predators, sometimes nicknamed “flying barn doors” due to their size, were once wide-spread across England but were hunted into extinction.
But following approval from Natural England on Wednesday, the eagles will soon be returning to Exmoor for the first time in 200 years.
White-tailed Eagles favour fish, but take a variety of other prey including birds, such as corvids, small mammals and carrion.
Ali Hawkins, Senior Ecologist with Exmoor National Park Authority, said: “Exmoor, with its long expanse of coastal woodland, provides some amazing habitat for White-tailed Eagles. Their reintroduction to the National Park is an exciting next step in delivering more for nature recovery and we’d like to thank everyone connected to the project.
“We are committed to continuing to work with farmers and other stakeholders, to support them in adapting to this species fledging on Exmoor once again. We hope that people will be lucky enough to see one of these incredible birds in the coming years.”
According to Natural England, the Government’s wildlife licensing authority, some stakeholders have raised concerns about the project, especially around livestock predation.
Natural England explained that they “understand that there are genuine fears” but from six years of monitoring the eagles there was “no recorded feeding on lambs or other livestock. These birds have only been observed to take natural prey, preferring fish and coastal birds.”
White-tailed Eagles prefer wetland habitats, such as estuaries and coastlines, but they can also be sighted in quiet areas away from water, particularly when they are young
The releases on Exmoor are hoped to boost the number of birds already in the wild and expand their breeding range into South West England.
To date, 45 young white-tailed eagles have been released from the project’s base on the Isle of Wight.
Four pairs of birds have bonded and successfully formed territories along the south coast.
The first pair to successfully breed did so in 2023, fledging the first chick to be born in the wild in England for over 240 years.
Since then, a further five chicks have been born in the wild.
Stephen Egerton-Read, White-Tailed Eagle Project Manager, at Forestry England, said: “Returning lost species like the white-tailed eagle is a key part of restoring biodiversity and supporting nature recovery.
“Seven years on from the start of this project these birds have begun to successfully return to the English landscape – forming pairs, establishing territories and breeding.
“Adding additional releases at Exmoor will help to boost their numbers and continue their spread across southern England. We hope that in years to come these iconic birds will become a much more common sight.”
White-tailed eagles are opportunistic and will often steal food from other predatory birds
All of the released birds are fitted with satellite tags so that the project team can track their location and study their progress.
Roy Dennis OBE, Founder of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, said: “White-tailed eagles were once a common sight in England but were lost centuries ago. This project is reversing that situation, and I am delighted that we will be able to release additional birds this year and boost their numbers in the wild.
“It is exciting to be able to play a part in restoring these birds back to their former home, and to see how well they are fitting into the English landscape. We will continue to work closely with a range of organisations as we enter this next phase of this exciting project.”
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