UK's Largest Bird Of Prey Returns To England For First Time In 240 Years

Britain’s largest bird of prey has returned to the English skies for the first time in 240 years. White-tailed eagles, which have a wing span up to 2.5 metres, were once a common sight across southern England until the 18th century when they were wiped out by illegal killing. They were last recorded in England in 1780 at Culver Cliff on the Isle of Wight, before becoming extinct in the whole of the UK in 1918 when the final bird was shot on the Scottish Shetland Islands.

The birds are known as "sit-and-wait" foragers, who prefer to wait and watch their prey rather than fly great distances for food, which saves valuable energy. Roy Dennis, founder of The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation said: "I have spent much of my life working on the reintroduction of these amazing birds and so watching them take to the skies of the Isle of Wight has been a truly special moment. "Establishing a population of white-tailed eagles in the south of England will link and support emerging populations of these birds in the Netherlands, France and Ireland, with the aim of restoring the species to the southern half of Europe." Bruce Rothnie, from Forestry England, added: "We are immensely proud that the woodlands we manage on the Isle of Wight and surrounding South Coast are now home to these incredibly rare birds as they return to England's coastline."