Golden eagles poised for reintroduction in England | Birds

After more than 150 years, Golden Eagles could be ready to return to England, as a study should confirm that there are enough sites appropriate to support the reintroduction of the most emblematic prey of the United Kingdom.

The golden eagles, which can have a wingspan of more than 2 meters, are sometimes observed in areas such as Northumberland. However, these birds come from an increasing population in the south of Scotland. A recent project to reintroduce birds in Scotland is probably a model for any reintroduction in England.

Due to the persecution of guards and farmers, the species has in fact been extinguished in England for about 150 years. The last native gilded eagle, which lived alone in a Lake District reserve, disappeared in 2015.

But after a decision to legally free up beavers in England – a pair of animals was released in the Dorset in March – the environment secretary, Steve Reed, supervises plans that could lead to brought back Aigles.

Forestry England conducted a feasibility study on the reintroduction of reintroduction and the way in which the species could be reintroduced. Although this is not to be published for several months, it is understood that it concludes that there is the ability to support a population of birds.

The reintroduction of extinct species is a complex process and must follow the directives set out by the International Union based in France for the conservation of nature (IUCN), as well as the granting of licenses by Natural England, the Government Guard.

The Golden Eagle project from the south of Scotland offers a recent example to follow. Although there are flourishing populations of birds in the western islands and the Hebrides and in the north of the continental Scotland, with up to 600 breeding pairs in all, there was once only a handful in the south of the country. However, an official reintroduction program started in 2018 led the population to go from just over three or four pairs to more than 50 – more than that had been recorded in the region for more than 300 years.

According to Duncan Orr-Wee, the head of species and the management of the BIRD charitable organization the RSBP, an English program would most likely follow the same model, with northern England.

In the Scottish program, simple chicks were taken from the broods of two in established populations when they had about six to eight weeks, then fed remotely with a minimum of human contact before being released on specially chosen sites, with food initially provided until they can hunt.

Such a method was also used in the reintroduction of red kite and sea eagles, and has tended to work well, said Orr-Wewing, with high survival rates for the Eagle Goldle Eagle project in the south of Scotland.

Although it depended on enough appropriate sites containing enough prey, in the north of England, it is unlikely that this is a problem.

Orr-Wewing said: “The main prey of golden eagles is things like Growe, Rabbids, Habs. But they can also take other things like Cerf calves, we have seen badgers, fox-cubs, all this kind of thing.

The Ministry of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said that a reintroduction program for England would also examine public commitment and consider the impact on other species and the wider environment.

A DEFRA spokesperson said: “The recovery of the Golden Eagles offers hope for the future of the species in Great Britain. All the next stages of their reintroduction in England will be defined in due course.”

Return stories

Reintroducing birds and animals in places where they were previously extinct is a complex process, but there has been a series of examples in recent years.

Beavers
The Eurasian beaver is from Great Britain but was hunted for extinction approximately 400 years ago. About 20 years ago, some were seen in Scotland, which would have been illegally released in the wild. An official reintroduction program in Scotland began in 2021 and the country now has around 1,500 inhabitants. After the start of a similar scheme in England, the first legally released animals were released in the Dorset in May. In July, it appeared that no subsequent license for the release of Beaver had been granted, despite 40 expressions of interest.

Bison
In 2022, three bison was released in Kent Woodland, the first wild examples of the creature in Britain for thousands of years. Although this has so far been unique, the herd has extended to six, and the impact of bison in the region has been recognized to increase biodiversity. The same conservation project has also released a species known as Iron Age Pig, a cross between the wild boar and the domestic pigs which are similar to wild pigs which have traveled a large part of Europe thousands of years ago. He also published Longhorn cattle and exmoor ponies.

Red kites
The red kite was common, but the loss of habitat and theft of eggs meant that in the 1980s, they went from England, with only a few pairs in Wales. In July 1990, two Welsh and 11 Red Red Kerks from Spain – the chicks were brought to a British flight Airways – were released in the hills of Chiltern, a repeated process over the next four years, with similar diets in other regions. Red kite is now commonly observed in the Chiltern and there are about 2,000 breeding pairs in England, distributed throughout the country.