Various separate projects are gaining traction to release White-tailed Eagles (WTE) in Cumbria, Wales, Severn Estuary, and Exmoor National Park in a strategic attempt to bolster and connect the current populations in Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland and southern England.
EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK
The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, responsible for the successful reintroduction of WTEs to southern England, is now considering small-scale releases in other areas to help restore the former population. The Foundation’s first proposed location is Exmoor National Park in Somerset/Devon.
This area was identified as an important location for WTEs as tracking data from the reintroduced eagles on the Isle of Wight show it’s somewhat of an eagle hotspot, with at least seven individuals making regular visits.
The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England is partnering with the Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA) with a view to releasing up to 20 WTEs over a three year period.
A press release from ENPA says, “Over the last few years we have been doing a lot of liaison with local landowners and shoots regarding white-tailed eagles already visiting Exmoor“.
I’ll bet they have! Exmoor is heaving with pheasant and partridge shoots, including several run by, shall we say, ‘interesting’ sporting agents. An earlier plan to release Hen Harriers on Exmoor was met with resistance by local shoots because they feared it would ‘lead to increased scrutiny of legal activities‘(!) (see here).
The ENPA is currently running a ‘public perception survey’ to find out people’s views on the proposed release of WTEs. The online survey is open to everyone, but especially those who live and work within Exmoor NP and those who visit. If you’d like to participate, the survey is here.
WALES and the SEVERN ESTUARY
A different project is planning to release White-tailed eagles back into Wales and to the Severn Estuary after several years of careful research and consultation.
White-tailed Eagles were formerly distributed across Wales but haven’t bred there for over 150 years since being wiped out by persecution (see here and here).
The Eagle Reintroduction Wales (ERW) Project has been undertaking research for quite a few years (e.g. here) and is now working in partnership with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Gwent Wildlife Trust and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust on actively planning for a WTE reintroduction in southeast Wales and the wider Severn Estuary.
The ERW Project has also launched a public opinion survey to find out people’s views on the release of WTEs. Again, the survey is open to everyone but especially those who live and/or work in the region and the wider Bristol Channel area. If you’d like to participate, the survey is here.
CUMBRIA
The Cumbrian White-tailed Eagle Project is exploring the possibility of bringing WTEs back to the southern part of Cumbria. This is a consortium of organisations, including the University of Cumbria, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, The Lifescape Project, RSPB, the Wildland Research Institute and the Lake District National Park Authority.
The last recorded WTE breeding attempt was near Haweswater in 1787.
Research has already been undertaken to assess prey availability, habitat suitability and a population viability assessment has been completed.
The team is now undertaking a social feasibility study and has launched a questionnaire to evaluate the public’s attitudes and views on a potential WTE release. The questionnaire is aimed at individuals living in Cumbria and the surrounding areas. If you’d like to participate, the questionnaire is here.
UPDATE 6th January 2025: Predictable backlash from NFU to proposed releases of White-tailed Eagles (here)
UPDATE 23 October 2025: Should White-tailed Eagles be reintroduced to Cumbria? Another questionnaire seeks your views (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 
I watched a falconry demonstration with a guy flying a White Tailed Eagle. He made the point which that their genetics is more closely related to vultures than true eagles. He was also saying that there isn’t evidence of the WTE taking live lambs, but every dead lamb is a WTE related because of the payments. Is this the case? If it is, this case needs to be made strongly.
I think the farming community (I am not a farmer) feels justly threatened by both some poor ecological and financial policies. In these troubled times, the UK needs to establish it’s food sustainability and security. WTE releases need to be viability long term, which could be rendered null and void by a future populist government. I hope a solution, that has the buy-in across the spectrum interested groups, can be found that furthers the range and survival of WTE.
“He was also saying that there isn’t evidence of the WTE taking live lambs, but every dead lamb is a WTE related because of the payments.”
Is a related what? Because of which payments?
Sea Eagle Management Scheme from the Scottish Govt
See here: )Funny how he’s convinced it’s Eag;les, but can’t get a photo)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/02/im-used-to-people-thinking-im-lying-are-scotlands-sea-eagles-killing-hundreds-of-lambs
“Sea Eagle Management Scheme from the Scottish Govt”
Thanks for the link – and apologies for the late reply.
I was originally thrown by the fact that the blog post refers exclusively to England and Wales, while Eric’s comments referred to ‘lambs’ and ‘payments…’
As far as I know, there are no such compensation schemes in England and Wales: “National Sheep Association questions why a permanent Natural England compensation scheme could not underpin this release.”
Mind you – Google AI is terribly confused: it claims there are “compensation schemes in England and Wales”, quoting the “Sea Eagle Management Scheme in Scotland” as an example!
That’s AI for you:-(
The Guardian article is interesting, up to a point… but that point is that the environment referenced is not at all natural: “Farming on these hills has changed little in 150 years.” and “For hundreds of years, however, landowners, gamekeepers, farmers and collectors killed them (White-tailed Eagles) in large numbers. The last known wild bird in Britain died in 1918.”
So, it was ‘farming‘ which helped drive this apex predator to its extinction in the first place and completely altered the landscape (in favour of sheep grazing) from its natural state.
Would/should we allow such a thing to happen today, especially for an uneconomic ‘crop’?
i have been following various raptor articles and watch nature programs.im interested in all birds of of prey and seen lots on my walks in Yorkshire I m horrified that hen harriers are persecuted.i think there’s a lot of ignorance and superstion around regarding raptors.i even read about lynx possible reintroduction by landowner in Scotland if he owns this land why not try this and carefully monitor things.agaim why not try sea eagle introduction in remote areas and again monitor events.
I believe they eat cormorants? Bring them back!
White-tailed eagles that were released into the wild in southern England have not attacked livestock, a study has found.
The UK’s largest bird of prey – also known as the sea eagle – was reintroduced to the Isle of Wight in 2019, more than two centuries after the species became extinct in England. Farmers on the island previously said they feared for the safety of lambs. However, Forestry England said its study showed no such predation.
Stephen Egerton-Read from Forestry England said no lambs or similar creatures had been taken by the Isle of Wight eagles.
He said: “There has not been any actual conflict [with farming]. There’s just been a perception conflict might happen.”
Twenty-nine sea eagles have so far been released on the island by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, as part of a conservation project.
The study analysed GPS data and sightings of the eagles, which have roamed as far as Scotland and continental Europe.
Researchers found their prey included rabbits, grey mullet and cuttlefish.
The eagles supplemented their diet with carrion and by stealing catches from smaller birds of prey, the team said.
Mr Egerton-Read said: “All the way through those early days of the project, the biggest concern surrounding white-tailed eagles from any party, be they from farming background, gamebird background, fishing background or a conservation background, will be what the birds eat.
“This diet data we have is really useful in terms of helping provide… reassurance. “Sixteen remain alive, including a chick born in southern England in 2023.
I live on the Isle of Wight and the re-introduction of the White Tailed Eagle has become very positive, with fantastic photos of them in our local newspaper The County Press, talks given to adults and schools: my partner’s then 8 year old grandson after attending one at his school gave us his own lecture on the WTE! Our White Tailed Eagles have become as popular as our Red Squirrel population, in fact in 2024 a giant mural was painted on the side of a very large building in East Cowes and the White Tailed Eagle was prominently leading the way! I think it is safe to say that the Islanders have truly embraced this wonderful raptor.
Thank you for that. Quite inspiring!
I’m fascinated by the hotspot that looks like it in the Peak District. Is there a zoomable version of the map so we can see where they have been visiting? The local wildlife trust might be interested.
Im sure most of Keswick area would also welcome the WTE as we alrrady have the Ospreys visiting. Bring it on we would love to see this Beautiful bird 👌
What’s the point. The WTEs have already visited these locales as the map in this article shows. If the habitat works for them they’d stay, or fly on if it doesn’t, but they are already there. In the case of Southern Cumbria they checked it out, but preferred somewhere else. There’s no reason to expect a different outcome if they were specifically released in Southern Cumbria unless I’m missing something.