Milestone for iconic eagles

For the first time in 240 years, a white-tailed eagle has fledged in the wild at a secret location in southern England

- Sheena Harvey

THE BIRTH OF A MALE WHITE-TAILED eagle signals the success of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation (RDWF) and Forestry England project to return these iconic birds of prey to their original widespread locations along the southern coast of England. The last time a white-tailed eagle chick fledged in England, the American Revolutionary War was in full swing, while in Germany, Mozart was working on his opera Idomeneo.

For two centuries these magnificent birds, with wingspans up to 2.5m, were missing from most of the UK, having been wiped out by human persecution by the early 20th century.