Prior to being reintroduced the White- tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) had been absent as a resident breeding bird in England for over 240 years. Like many birds of prey, the White-tailed Eagle suffered relentless persecution from the Middle Ages onwards. The last known pair in southern England bred on Culver Cliff in 1780 on the Isle of Wight
A five-year reintroduction project, led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, began in 2019 to translocate and release White tailed Eagles on the Isle of Wight. this year, a further reinforcement project began with releases on Exmoor National Park.
Ornithologist Zoe Smith has been working on both projects, building on Roy’s renowned 50+ years of raptor conservation, protection and reintroduction experience and will be joining us to guide us through the genesis of the project and the discoveries made whilst monitoring the birds, including the hot-off-the-press news from her work this year on Exmoor.
All translocated birds have been fitted with Ornitela satellite tags to monitor their post-release movements. The young IoW eagles have dispersed widely in their early years, with some individuals travelling to northern Scotland, and two others crossing the English Channel to continental Europe. All have later returned to the English South Coast as they approach breeding age and the satellite tags have provided a valuable insight into habitat use and settlement patterns with all early pairs within the expected natal dispersal range of the released birds. In 2023 a pair of three-year-old (4CY) translocated birds set up territory and began breeding for the first time, rearing a single chick, the first to fledge in England since 1780!
Zoe is an experienced raptor worker, both in the UK and abroad, who has also played a key role in organising and coordinating the national peregrine network ‘People 4 Peregrines’ which SBSG has been delighted to be involved in.
