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White tailed Eagle reintroduction schemes in the UK
From The Independent web site:
The Eagle Flies Again
By Peter Marren
Shot out of our skies, the massive sea eagle is making a spectacular
comeback - and it could soon be seen in a harbour near you. Peter Marren
reports
Published: 22 June 2006
Imagine a great bird the size of a tall bookcase casting shadows as it soars
over the marshes. Better still, think of it following your boat, like a
gannet, its long, banana-yellow bill casting this way and that as it scans
the ocean for fishy titbits. Or perhaps you see it perched on a rock by the
harbour with outstretched wings, rather like one of the copper liver birds
overlooking Liverpool's waterfront. Could this be the highlight of a
wildlife tour of tropical Africa or the Amazon? No, it is a possible glimpse
of East Anglia a few years from now. It could even be a scene from the
Thames Gateway.
The bird is the sea eagle, the fourth-largest eagle in the world and the
biggest bird of prey in northern Europe. Its story has been one of the
unlikeliest conservation successes of recent times. Pushed to extinction in
Britain by sheep farmers and sporting interests in the early years of the
20th century, the return of the sea eagle became a conservation sensation
three generations later.
Young birds taken from their nests in Norway were reared and then released
into the wild. There are now some 33 breeding pairs of the great bird, all
of them in Scotland. And their number is steadily increasing at 12 per cent
a year, a sign that the population is already "self-sustaining". In other
words, barring some unforeseen catastrophe, the sea eagle is back and here
to stay.
Here to stay but, for most of us, a long distance away. In much of the
country, it is quicker and cheaper to fly to Majorca than make the journey
to sea eagle country on Scotland's remote north-west coast. But there are
plans to reintroduce the eagle to more populous parts of Britain. Last
December, English Nature even approved a scheme to release them in East
Anglia, where the Suffolk coast has been earmarked as the most
eagle-friendly area. There are similar plans to rear and release sea eagles
in lowland Scotland and in north Wales. The East Anglian project may begin
as early as next year.
Has the conservation world gone eagle-crazy? Can you imagine the world's
fourth-largest eagle making a living over the rooftops of Ipswich? Or
gliding along the Menai Straits, fixing Brunel's railway bridge with its
glassy yellow stare? Well, yes, say the eagle's human promoters; believe it
or not, they can.
This is not the shy, aloof golden eagle, forever destined to flee from
ever-encroaching human habitation. The sea eagle gets on with people quite
well - that is, as long as we are not persecuting them. In other parts of
the world, they hang around fishing harbours and nest close to villages. In
behaviour, sea eagles are more like their close relative, the American bald
eagle (the world's third-largest eagle). This American icon routinely nests
on the outskirts of major cities, like Vancouver, even, on occasion, in big
trees in parks and gardens.
Professor Ian Newton, a world authority on birds of prey, points out that
sea eagles could once be found all around the British coast. "Many parts of
the coast still present suitable habitats for these magnificent birds, and,
if undisturbed, they could nest in fairly close proximity to people. We can
expect them to build their nests in trees and cliffs and to hunt mainly over
the shallower estuaries and inland reservoirs."
Often thought of as the most sterile agricultural plain in Britain, East
Anglia in fact holds a plentiful year-round food supply for sea eagles. The
marshes and muddy estuaries of Suffolk and Essex are well-stocked with
waterfowl and fish, while rabbits are frequent along the drier parts of the
coast.
Moreover, the eagle can take its pick of inland lakes, from the Broads to
the big reservoirs of the East Midlands; a hundred-mile round flight is
nothing to a sea eagle. In Scotland they regularly visit the headwaters of
highland rivers to feast on dead and dying salmon. They also appear from
nowhere like vultures after a ghillie has "gralloched" (that is,
disembowelled) a deer, before carrying it off the hill.
But how will the good folk of East Anglia take to the idea of an eight-foot,
flesh-eating bird swooping over their neighbourhood? If Scotland is any
guide, they will love it. The B&B establishments of Mull have never had it
so good. Eagle watching has become a thriving business in the isles,
generating around £1.5m a year. In England, the reintroduction project is
estimated to cost between £120,000 and £150,000 a year. So, in business
terms, this project could quickly turn a profit.
Sea eagle enthusiasts also point to the popularity of reintroduced red kites
and ospreys. And if you think ospreys are impressive, just wait until you
spot a sea eagle out on a fishing trip.
In truth, it's all about spectacle and spin. Sea eagles are among the
world's least-threatened large birds of prey. Their numbers have quadrupled
in Sweden, and they have recolonised Denmark. They are pleased with Poland
and having fun in Finland. Introducing them to Suffolk isn't going to make
much difference to sea eagle conservation. It is doing very nicely on its
own, thank you very much.
But, as English Nature recognises, there's more to this than meets the eye.
Messing around with sea eagles, says English Nature, "represents a major
opportunity to lead a high profile 'flagship species' project that will
highlight the organisation at the forefront of a major biodiversity delivery
initiative." In other words, sea eagles get the column inches denied to
smaller fry. They star in Springwatch and attract crowds of admirers. They
"deliver benefits to people and nature", say English Nature.
And that is what 21st-century style, ultra-democratic nature conservation
has to be about. Government-funded heritage bodies are terrified at being
seen to be élitist and remote from popular expectations. There's nothing
that links people and nature better than a big fierce bird, especially one
that is unlikely to cause much serious concern to farmers and game
interests.
And there's nothing like an eagle to sum up what it means to be wild and
free. Perhaps people will feel soon be feeling a little wilder and freer
themselves as they wander the muddy banks of Essex and a vast bird floats by
with a flicker of its barn-door wings. Modern Britain may sometimes feel
like a land of suburbs and grain prairies. But if the world's fourth-largest
eagle can make itself at home here, then may be our environment can't be all
that bad.
The giant of the skies
* A very big bird
Weighing as much as a full-grown swan and with a wingspan of eight feet,
this is a most impressive bird - especially from a few feet away as it
follows your boat in the expectation of fishy hand-outs.
* A poetic name
Scottish Gaelic speakers called it Iolaire suil na Greine, "the eagle with
the sunlit eye".
* Distinguishing features
Heavy, vulture-like wings. Massive yellow bill and matching eyes. Tail
trimmed with white on mature birds. In breeding season it can be noisy,
uttering dog-like yelps and harsh screeches.
* Numbers
The European population is about 6,000 pairs, mostly in Scandinavia and
Russia. Norway has the most with about 2,000 pairs. In the remote past,
Britain may have had almost as many.
* What they eat
A lot of things. Sea eagles are fond of fish, alive or dead. They will also
catch and eat waterfowl, including cormorants, gulls and ducks, and steal
anything they fancy from other birds. They like eating rabbits, and they
love carrion. Also lambs, though usually sick or dead ones.
* Where to see them now
Sea-eagle spotting is a major attraction for visitors to the isle of Mull.
Mid-morning is a good time to catch a glimpse. A customised hide run by the
RSPB (bookings can be made by calling 01688 302 038) and three wildlife tour
operators on the island improve your chance of a good view.
* The vision
"Imagine a future when eagles soar again over the chalk cliffs or hunt for
waterfowl over marshes" - Roy Dennis, pioneer of the sea eagle
reintroduction project.
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