Sea eagles are slowly returning to English skies after being driven to extinction 240 years ago.
Also known as white-tailed eagles, the UK’s largest bird of prey disappeared from England in 1780, but were still sighted in Scotland up until 1916.
With a wingspan of up to 8ft (2.5m), they were once widespread across the UK, but hunters wiped them out a century ago.
Thanks to conservationists reintroducing them on the Isle of Wight, the birds are beginning to make a comeback in England.
Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation released three pairs of the birds in a secret location on the island last year. At least six birds will be released annually, with the first pairs expected to breed by 2024.
The birds are taken as chicks from Scotland, where there are now 150 breeding pairs after the eagles were successfully reintroduced there from Norway in the 1970s.
Four young birds in England have been tracked by GPS flying from their nests to Somerset, Kent and Norfolk. Some have flown as far north as Yorkshire to roost.
The Roy Dennis Foundation is now appealing for people to look to the skies and send in any sightings and photos.
How to spot a white-tailed eagle
White-tailed eagles, or sea eagles, have very broad wings, which appear more rectangular than those of a golden eagle.
They have fingered tips. As the name suggests, they have a white tail, ridged with black in juveniles.
The short tail has a distinctive wedge shape. The head and neck are pale, almost white in mature birds, although juveniles are dark brown, and do not attain full adult plumage until 4-5 years of age.
They have a hooked yellow beak, much more prominent than that of a golden eagle, and piercing golden eyes. The legs and talons are yellow.
Head here to report a sighting.
Source: The Roy Dennis Foundation
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