Seabird sanctuary islands on alert as eagle lands

The bird, one of a group released in eastern Scotland last month as part of a reintroduction scheme, arrived on the islands on Saturday.

The eagles, nicknamed "flying barn doors" because of their size, were persecuted to extinction in England in the early 19th century and disappeared from Scotland in the early 20th century.

They have been successfully reintroduced in the west of Scotland and a reintroduction scheme is under way in eastern Scotland, but plans to bring the country's largest bird of prey back to England were shelved earlier this year.

Since its arrival the male bird has eaten several seabirds, including a shag and some fulmars and gulls, and birds have been witnessed "mobbing" the eagle in a bid to drive it away.

The RSPB's East Scotland sea eagle officer Claire Smith said she believed it had been carried south by the strong winds to the Farne Islands, off the cost of Northumberland.

It is the third time one of the birds released in the scheme, which has been running since 2007, has headed into England - but this is the furthest an eagle has gone immediately after release.

Head warden David Steel of the Farne Islands, which are owned and managed by the National Trust, said the bird, also known as a sea eagle, was the largest oddity that had ever turned up there.

"Most of the seabirds have long gone, and normally at this time of year it's just the grey seals, the wardens and the visitors.

"So having a three and a half foot bird with a 7ft wingspan is something else, it's fantastic."

But he expressed concern that the islands' seabirds already had enough pressures on them without being at risk of predation.