The White-Tailed Sea Eagle – Haliaeetus albicilla

by Graham Stewart 

In the UK, birds of prey don’t come any bigger than the mighty White-tailed Eagle. Their enormous size, measuring between 66-94cm long with a wing span of between 1.78 – 2.45m and broad, almost rectangular wings have even earned them the nickname of the flying barn door.

The White-tailed Eagle is the largest UK bird of prey. It has brown body plumage with a conspicuously pale head and neck, which can be almost white in older birds, and the tail feathers of adults are white. In flight it has massive broad wings with fingered ends. Its head protrudes and it has a wedge-shaped tail. This Schedule 1 species went extinct in the UK during the early 20th century but has now been successfully reintroduced in Scotland and the Isle of Wight.

White-tailed Eagles mate for life and are very faithful to their nest site, which will usually be on a cliff ledge or in a large tree large pile of sticks on a cliff ledge or in a flat tree crown.

It reaches maturity from 4-5 years old and will normally produce one brood per year, with 2 eggs March – July. Due to there relatively low numbers nest sites are protected.

Will take dead / sick fish from the water with its talons. Fish offal left behind by fishermen. Known to take Hares and Sea Birds and there are some suggestions that baby lambs are also within this powerful birds capabilities. The bird is also known to “pirate” food from other birds and from otters. During the winter months when food sources are scarcer will also take carrion.

From evidence and historical place names that White-tailed Eagles were once found across the UK, but by the early 19th century they had been driven to extinction in England, as a result of persecution. The last known White-tailed Eagle was shot and killed here in 1918. Thanks to a reintroduction project led by the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage, White-tailed Eagles returned to Scotland’s skies in 1975. There have been several more reintroductions in Scotland since then, and in 2019 White-tailed Eagles were released on the Isle of Wight. Numbers have slowly increased and in 2015 there were some 106 pairs. This bird is now heavily protected by law , Schedule 1 protection means it is illegal to disturb this species.

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