White-Tailed Eagle Chicks Fledge for Fourth Consecutive Year in England

White-tailed eagle chicks have successfully fledged from wild nests in England for the fourth consecutive year, signaling continued progress for a reintroduction project aiming to restore the species to the country.

This year, two of the five released pairs of eagles raised young. One chick fledged from a nest in Dorset, and two more in Sussex. These successful fledges bring the total number of wild-born white-tailed eagles in England to nine since the project commenced in 2019.

The initiative, a collaboration between Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, has been described as "remarkable" by foundation representatives, especially considering one of the adult male birds has only one leg, a result of an injury sustained five years ago.

The white-tailed eagle was driven to extinction in England due to human persecution, with the last known pair breeding in the southern part of the country 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," said Roy Dennis OBE.

Steve Egerton-Read, white-tailed eagle project officer for Forestry England, expressed delight at the fledglings' success. "We are delighted that these three chicks made it through and will be closely watching their progress as they begin to explore the landscape," he stated.

To date, 56 young white-tailed eagles have been released as part of the project. This year also saw the first releases of six birds in Exmoor National Park, in partnership with the Exmoor National Park Authority, expanding the project's reach.