Wing and a preyer as sea eagle swaps Scotland for Isle of Wight

A 10-month-old whitetailed sea eagle called Chief is the latest of the extremely rare birds of prey to arrive on the Isle of Wight after the species became extinct in the UK nearly 200 years ago.

The youngster, who weights 9.5lb and has a 7.5ft wingspan, has been brought from the Scottish Eagle Centre, at Elvanfoot, near Biggar, to live at Robin Hill visitor park.

Chief will be looked after by 22-year-old Charlie Rolle, one of the island’s youngest qualified falconers, who will train the eagle to fly and express natural behaviours.

He said: “There is nothing more aweinspiring than to see a bird of prey in action.”

The species – Britain’s largest bird of prey with an 8ft wingspan – is native to the UK and once was commonplace across the south coast of England, from Cornwall to Kent, but was driven to extinction by

persecution that began in the Middle Ages.

They were extinct in the UK by the early 20th Century, with the last pair to breed in southern England nesting on Culver Cliff on the Isle of Wight in 1780.

The species was successfully reintroduced to Scotland, where there are now more than 130 pairs, and a reintroduction

programme is taking place on the Isle of Wight. It started in 2019, with plans to release 60 birds over a five-year period.

Adults are brown, with a pale head and white tail, and in flight the eagle has long, broad wings with a short wedge tail.

They have a expectancy of 40 years. life to 50

Chief with Charlie Rolle at the visitor park.