White-tailed eagles sighted in United Kingdom for the first time in 200 years

Amid the coronavirus lockdown, the endangered white-tailed eagles, known to be UK’s largest bird of prey with a wingspan of 2.5 meters have been reportedly sighted for the first time in over 200 years in Britain. The humongous bird, fitted with the satellite tags and majestic wings breed in the wild and were sighted in Scotland until 1916 after which, it was declared extinct in the 20th century, as per media reports. 

According to reports, at least 130 breeding pairs of the white-tailed eagles were bred across Scotland in 2016, and the six young Isle of Wight birds were adopted via special license by the UK. The birds reportedly disappeared in England back in 1780, however, a project from Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation was initiated towards its conservation program. The birds released in the UK were fitted with trackers for the conservationists to monitor their activities, that noticeably flew to far-away regions in the world. But recently, they returned to the UK as many of the eagles soared and were reported to have been sighted. Therefore, Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation urged the people to share the photos on its official website. 

Picture credit: Amy Robjohns/Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation

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The foundation wrote on its website, “There have been a large number of sightings in spring 2020 which relate to birds released on the Isle of Wight, and others, likely from Continental Europe. If you have seen and photographed a White-tailed Eagle in England or Wales please send us details and upload your photograph.”

Foundation identified the bird

Further, the foundation identified the bird as, “they have a white tail, ridged with black in juveniles. The short tail has a distinctive wedge shape. The head and neck are pale, almost white in mature birds, although juveniles are dark brown, and do not attain full adult plumage until 4-5 years of age. They have a hooked yellow beak, much more prominent than that of a golden eagle, and piercing golden eyes. The legs and talons are yellow.” 

The white-tailed eagle's species suffered huge declines in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries and was driven to extinction in the UK, mainly due to threats it posed on the livestock, Roy Dennis Foundation said. As with many birds of prey, the species also suffered huge losses in the 1950s and 1960s due to organochlorine pesticides such as DDT, which caused eggshell thinning, it further listed in causes for the bird’s extinction. 

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