Thrill over rare sight of eagles
Volunteers working at RSPB Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast were treated to a spectacular sighting of two visiting white-tailed eagles.
The birds, also known as sea eagles, appeared at the nature reserve on March 30 and flew over in front of amazed onlookers.
They are the largest raptor resident in Britain, with a wingspan of around 8ft. A third individual was seen in the area in the winter.
Sea eagles were persecuted to extinction by 1918, when the last native bird was shot in the Shetland Isles, and only the occasional stray bird from Europe was seen in England until 2019, when the wildlife charity Roy Dennis Foundation began a reintroduction project on the Isle of Wight.
Two of the juveniles released on the Solent subsequently roamed in the spring and summer of 2020, spending a significant amoung of times roosting in the North York Moors National Park, where they fed on rabbits. They were not recorded at Bempton Cliffs.
RSPB staff say the eagles’ origins are a mystery, as they are not tagged or ringed and have not come from the Isle of Wight programme.
Experts believe they may be roaming ‘teenage’ birds from a population in Europe
Bempton Cliffs site manager Dave O’Hara said: “There has been some conjecture that strong easterly winds have blown them over from Europe. They are unlikely to stay, as they are young birds who roam and wander, but it could be a sign that they are looking for new locations.”
Linda MacKenzie, a volunteer who was on the viewing platform at the time, said: “I couldn’t quite believe it - it was so exciting to see these two majestic birds but trying to keep track of both was tricky.”