White-tailed eagle chicks have successfully fledged from wild nests in England for the fourth consecutive year.
Two out of five pairs of eagles released by a reintroduction project successfully bred and raised young with one chick fledging from a nest in Dorset and two more in Sussex.
The project, run by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, aims to return the species to England. Nine birds have been born in the wild since it began in 2019.
“This year’s breeding success is another important milestone in the return of this lost species to England; it shows what can be achieved by very skilled wildlife managers,” Roy Dennis OBE from the foundation said.
The foundation has called the breeding attempts “remarkable”, adding that one of the male adult birds has only one leg after losing it five years ago.
Human persecution had caused the bird’s extinction, with the last pair breeding in southern England in 1780.
“Restoring a species takes many years and requires the support of a wide range of communities and organisations, in particular landowners and farmers,” Dennis added.
Steve Egerton-Read, white-tailed eagle project officer for Forestry England, said: “We are delighted that these three chicks made it through and will be closely watching their progress as they begin to explore the landscape.”
To date, 56 young white-tailed eagles have been released including, for the first time this year, additional releases of six birds at Exmoor National Park, in partnership with Exmoor National Park Authority.
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