A rare bald eagle known as the ‘flying barndoor’ has returned to the Isle of Wight after flying around Europe for two years.
The bird is a white-tailed eagle – a huge species with a wingspan of up to 8 feet (2.4 m) that became extinct in Britain in the early 20th century.
Although the species returned to Scotland in the 1970s, it was not returned to England until 2019 as part of a reintroduction program to the Isle of Wight.
The project, led by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England, involves the release of 60 fledglings over five years, and this male – named G463 – is one of them.
Since beginning his journey in 2020, he has visited seven different countries as part of a journey of more than 17,000km around the continent.
A rare bald eagle known as the ‘flying barndoor’ has returned to the Isle of Wight after flying around Europe for two years. Pictured: G463 in Minsmere on January 31, 2022
Routes taken by the ‘flying barndoor’ sea eagle. Red = Route taken from October 13, 2020 – December 31, 2021 White = Route taken from January 1, 2022 to January 9, 2023
It left the island in October 2020 and, after a few months in southern England, became the first bird of the scheme to cross the Channel in April 2021.
The bird returned in November and spent most of the winter in East Anglia, Suffolk and South Somerset before returning to mainland Europe on April 3, 2022.
“It was remarkable that, like many of the other young eagles, he returned to favorite locations that he first encountered during his early explorations,” said Roy Dennis, the trust’s founder.
While he spent some time in the Biesbosch in the Netherlands, the foundation received photographs showing that G463 had lost his right leg below the knee.
Using data from the accelerometer in the eagle’s tag, Mr Dennis’ team deduced that he suffered an injury in North Norfolk in December 2021 because he was ‘more sedentary than usual’.
It is thought to be the result of blood loss from entrapment or entanglement, or an electric shock, but it hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his European adventures.
G463 returned to England on 20 September 2022, first to its favorite sites of west Norfolk for October, then south Somerset and Dorset for the remainder of the year.
While visiting Poole harbour, he was spotted with other birds from the Isle of Wight reintroduction programme.
He had a “dogfight” with another younger male and spent time with a female the team hopes he will mate with in the coming weeks.
After an absence of 27 months – the longest of any bird on the schedule – he finally returned to the Isle of Wight on January 9 this year.
The reintroduction project to return them to the south coast, where they were once widespread, involves releasing up to 60 birds taken from the wild population in Scotland as fledglings over five years. Seven were released in 2020 (pictured)
Other birds in the reintroduction scheme mostly returned to the island and south coast as they approach breeding age after a period of exploration of the rest of the UK.
Three birds from the first two territorial pairs spent time in Scotland for the first two calendar years before settling in the Arun Valley in West Sussex and the Isle of Wight.
But the intrepid G463 has visited the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium and France, as well as mainland England.
Mr Dennis said that on his first night back he was sleeping near the release area and the two sea eagles living on the island.
However, he was chased off elsewhere on the island, before crossing the Channel again and heading back to Poole Harbour.
The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation will still be closely monitoring G463 to ensure he continues to thrive with only one foot, but it is “encouraging” that he has survived so far.
The white-tailed eagle experienced a massive decline in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries and continues to be persecuted by gamekeepers for feeding on birds, rabbits and hares.
G463 returned to England on 20 September 2022, first to its favorite sites of west Norfolk for October, then south Somerset and Dorset for the remainder of the year. Pictured: G463 at Chard Junction Gravel Pits on November 27, 2022
The white-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey in the UK and has a black ribbed tail, golden eyes and yellow claws, legs and beaks. Pictured: G463 in Poole Harbor on January 21, 2023
It is the largest bird of prey in the UK and has a black ribbed tail, golden eyes and yellow claws, feet and beak.
But over the past 40 years, the eagles have been successfully reintroduced to Scotland and Ireland.
The 2019 reintroduction project aimed to return them to the south coast, where they were once widespread, by relocating birds that had hatched in the wild in Scotland.
When the program was accepted Mr Dennis said: ‘Sea eagles were once a common sight in England and Southern Europe but were lost centuries ago.
“I can remember walking along Culver Cliffs as a boy to see where the eagles had once lived.
“It’s incredible to now be able to play a part in helping these birds return to their homes.”
During a visit to Poole Harbor in late 2022, G463 (below) was spotted with other birds from the reintroduction programme. He had a ‘dogfight’ with another younger male G812 (above)
The white-tailed eagle experienced a massive decline in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries and continues to be persecuted by gamekeepers for feeding on birds, rabbits and hares
Before COVID-19 and bird flu halted proceedings, 13 sea eagles had been familiarized with the Isle of Wight and released.
In 2021, a license was granted to the foundation by Natural England to introduce a small breeding population of eagles to west Norfolk.
Concerns have been raised in the past about the impact on livestock such as lambs from the birds.
However, the team said no conservation area or farm issues had been recorded with any of the 13 birds released on the Isle of Wight at the time.
Bald eagle population growth drops 6% due to lead poisoning, study finds
Bald eagles may have recovered from near extinction, but the birds are now at risk from another threat: lead poisoning.
Their population growth in the northeastern U.S. is reduced by up to six percent due to the birds eating gunshots.
This is left in organs of other animals left on site after being shot by hunters.
Declining population growth could erase the cushions that protect once-threatened eagles from unforeseen events, according to a team of scientists led by Cornell University.
Researchers also noted that bald eagles weren’t the only animals to feast on animal remains left after a kill, as owls, crows and coyotes also eat the tainted meat and contract lead poisoning.
Read more here
Bald eagle population growth in the Northeast drops by up to six percent as birds eat gunshots in organs of other animals left on site after being shot
