Flying fishermen

White-tailed eagles were declared extinct in the UK 100 years ago, but we can now celebrate what has been their remarkable comeback, says JO PRICE.

Celebrating the white-tailed eageagle’ses cocomeback ebac

Skipper Martin Keivers has been running boat trips to see white-tailed eagles on the Scottish island of Mull for 10 years. “Since I moved to the island 20 years ago there are more eagles than there used to be,” he says.

Sea eagles, as they’re also known, became extinct in 1918 in the UK after centuries of habitat loss and direct persecution. After two small-scale reintroduction attempts, Scottish Natural Heritage started the main translocation project on the island of Rum in 1975, which was followed by phases in Wester Ross in 1993 and Fife in 2007.

“In Scotland, the population is now selfsustaining at 118 pairs,” says RSPB Mull officer Dave Sexton. “They successfully fledged over 80 chicks in 2017, despite ongoing persecution risks in some areas. White-tailed eagles are doing well but they still have a long way to go.”

There’s talk of reintroduction projects for England and Wales that could involve eaglets donated from Scotland’s population. In Ireland, 10 pairs are breeding, and Irish and Scottish birds are mixing in Scotland. “These aren’t ordinary birds,” says Martin. “My heart always beats faster when one approaches.” In coming years, perhaps more of us will feel that excitement as the UK’s largest bird of prey dives and wheels overhead.

At this time of year most white-tailed eagles will be incubating eggs, but some chicks may have already hatched. One parent goes hunting while the other guards their brood.