White-tailed eagles are to be reintroduced to Norfolk, in the latest efforts to bring back the birds nicknamed “flying barndoors” to England, it has been announced.
Government conservation agency Natural England has given the go-ahead for a scheme to release up to 60 juvenile white-tailed eagles over 10 years at Wild Ken Hill in west Norfolk, the team behind the project have said.
The huge birds of prey, whose wing span of up to 8ft (2.4m) gives them their nickname, became extinct in Britain by the early 20th century due to persecution.
They were reintroduced to Scotland from the 1970s, with the first reintroduction in England, where the species was once widespread in southern and eastern areas, taking place on the Isle of Wight in 2019, and the young birds ranging widely since.
White-tailed eagles are to be reintroduced to Norfolk, in the latest efforts to bring back the birds nicknamed “flying barndoors” to England, it has been announced.
Government conservation agency Natural England has given the go-ahead for a scheme to release up to 60 juvenile white-tailed eagles over 10 years at Wild Ken Hill in west Norfolk, the team behind the project have said.
The huge birds of prey, whose wing span of up to 8ft (2.4m) gives them their nickname, became extinct in Britain by the early 20th century due to persecution.
They were reintroduced to Scotland from the 1970s, with the first reintroduction in England, where the species was once widespread in southern and eastern areas, taking place on the Isle of Wight in 2019, and the young birds ranging widely since.
White-tailed eagles are to be reintroduced to Norfolk, in the latest efforts to bring back the birds nicknamed “flying barndoors” to England, it has been announced.
Government conservation agency Natural England has given the go-ahead for a scheme to release up to 60 juvenile white-tailed eagles over 10 years at Wild Ken Hill in west Norfolk, the team behind the project have said.
The huge birds of prey, whose wing span of up to 8ft (2.4m) gives them their nickname, became extinct in Britain by the early 20th century due to persecution.
They were reintroduced to Scotland from the 1970s, with the first reintroduction in England, where the species was once widespread in southern and eastern areas, taking place on the Isle of Wight in 2019, and the young birds ranging widely since.
BBC News
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image captionThe white-tailed eagles reintroduced to the Isle of Wight have been spotted across England
White-tailed eagles are to be reintroduced to a second place in England and the first on the mainland.
Three pairs of the birds, also known as sea eagles, were released on the Isle of Wight in 2019 - 240 years after they were last recorded in the country.
Natural England has issued a licence to the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation for a 10-year reintroduction at Wild Ken Hill in west Norfolk, starting in 2022.
The foundation said the birds would fit into the landscape very well .
White-tailed eagles are to be reintroduced to Norfolk, in the latest efforts to bring back the birds nicknamed “flying barndoors” to England, it has been announced.
Government conservation agency Natural England has given the go-ahead for a scheme to release up to 60 juvenile white-tailed eagles over 10 years at Wild Ken Hill in west Norfolk, the team behind the project have said.
The huge birds of prey, whose wing span of up to 8ft (2.4m) gives them their nickname, became extinct in Britain by the early 20th century due to persecution.
They were reintroduced to Scotland from the 1970s, with the first reintroduction in England, where the species was once widespread in southern and eastern areas, taking place on the Isle of Wight in 2019, and the young birds ranging widely since.