White-tailed eagle sightings: Largest UK bird of prey spotted in North York Moors this month
There have been a number of sightings of the young White-tailed eagles seen in the North York Moors recently.
White-tailed eagles are considered to be the largest UK bird of prey and over the last two years it has been spotted across Northern England as part of a re-introduction scheme that originated on the Isle of Wight.
It has a brown plumage, pale head and neck and its tail feathers are white. Its wingspan is between 200cm and 240cm.
The original species became extinct during the early 20th century and the current population is descended from reintroduced birds.
Their extinction was mainly caused by human activities such as habitat alterations and destruction of wetlands, around 100 years of systematic persecution by humans including inadvertent poisonings and organic compounds and illegal hunting.
They are adaptable hunters; they mostly eat fish, but also feed on various birds, rabbits and hares, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Another part of their diet is carrion, particularly during the winter months. Most lambs are taken as carrion.
These birds usually live most of the year near large bodies of open water, including coastal saltwater areas and inland freshwater lakes, wetlands, bogs and rivers.
It is both a powerful apex predator and an opportunistic scavenger and as such forms a species pair with the bald eagle.
White-tailed eagles are also known as Sea Eagles and are most commonly found along the coast but since their reintroduction, they have been spotted inland as well.
In May 2021, the group leading the Isle of Wight reintroduction scheme, the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, were permitted by Natural England to start a second project to reintroduce them, this time in Norfolk.
The scheme that began on the Isle of Wight has resulted in multiple sightings across Yorkshire, particularly in 2020.
In 2025, a few sightings of the bird were reported in and around Blakey Ridge/Farndales in North York Moors.