After hearing the awful news that three Isle of Wight White-tailed Eagles had been found dead over the last couple of months, it’s great to learn that two have recently returned to the Island after their extensive travels.
Over 10,000km
White-tailed Eagle G471 (the yellow track) returned to Isle of Wight on Sunday after 17 months away.
In this time he travelled a whopping 10,978km.
Almost 6,500km
Meanwhile, in February another 2020 bird, G466 (the white track), also made it back after spending most of 2021 in Northern Scotland, and flying 6,463km.
Reintroduction programme
The birds were released on the Isle of Wight as part of a five-year programme to restore this lost species, led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation.
The Isle of Wight was chosen as the location to reintroduce the White-tailed Eagles, also known as Sea Eagles, as it offers an ideal habitat for these coastal loving birds.
25 birds released
The first three pairs of juvenile white-tailed eagles were released on the Isle of Wight in August 2019.
In summer 2020, seven more were released and in 2021, another 12 were released on the Island.
Find out more
You can follow the journeys of these majestic birds on Twitter through the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation account or the Forestry England account.
Image: © Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation
