Investigation after rare white-tailed eagle found dead on the south coast

The two white-tailed eagles have died, including one in Dorset, it has been announced.

Nicknamed ‘flying barn doors’ because of their 8ft wingspan, some 25 of the birds of prey have been released into the wild on the Isle of Wight since 2019.

It came as part of a project to bring back a long-lost species to the skies of southern England.

Both of the eagles are undergoing post-mortem and toxicological examinations to determine the cause of death, Dorset Police said, as they urged anyone with information about what happened to them to come forward.

The force said in a statement: ‘Sadly, two of the Isle of Wight reintroduced white-tailed eagles have recently been recovered dead on multi-agency operations in the south of England, including one in Dorset in late January.

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‘These birds are extremely rare and we ask the public to be vigilant and to report any information they may have relating to the death of these birds to Dorset Police.’

Three other white-tailed eagles are in Dorset, the police added.

White-tailed eagles were once widespread across southern Britain until the 18th century, when persecution led to them being wiped out in the region.

The species went extinct in the UK in the early 20th century due to illegal killing.

Reintroduction efforts have seen them return to Scotland and a five-year programme by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation to bring the species back to England began in 2019.

The Isle of Wight was chosen as a location to reintroduce the birds, also known as sea eagles, as experts say it provides good habitat for the coast-loving creatures.

Since then the young birds have roamed widely in England, from Cornwall to the Norfolk coast, and as far as southern Scotland and even across the Channel to Europe.

They are protected by law, but conservationists warn that birds of prey can be the target of illegal persecution because of perceived threats to human activities such as the gamebird industry.

Reintroductions of white-tailed eagles have faced controversy amid concerns that they could prey on lambs, but experts have said there is no evidence of this being a problem where they live alongside lowland sheep farming in Europe.

A project to reintroduce the eagles on the Norfolk coast scheduled to start in 2022 was put on hold last autumn.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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