Golden Eagles Soaring South Back To English Skies

After years of absence, aureate eagles are opening to task backmost into England from nan southbound of Scotland, starring to hopes they mightiness nest. Among those crossing nan separator successful 2025 was a young antheral called Talla.

Wildlife enthusiast Ian Glendinning has seen nan UK's 2nd biggest vertebrate of prey galore times successful nan Scottish Highlands, but he ne'er expected to brushwood 1 successful his location region of Northumberland.

"It was nan extremity of March and I was driving successful a distant area of nan nationalist parkland pinch a mates of friends and nan rear rider abruptly shouted retired 'what connected world is that?'," he says.

"I looked complete to my correct and astir 30 metres distant location he was, sitting connected a rocky outcrop.

"Before I could get my telephone retired for a photograph it glided away, but it was perfectly colossal, location was conscionable nary doubting what it was.

"I would defy anyone not to beryllium impressed seeing specified a immense vertebrate astatine adjacent range."

Talla is 1 of astir 50 aureate eagles surviving successful nan Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway.

Their resurgence is acknowledgment to nan activity of nan South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP), group up erstwhile nan organization successful nan region had dropped to a specified handful.

• Listen to much astir nan return of aureate eagles connected BBC Sounds

Since 2018, SSGEP has successfully translocated 28 juveniles, collected astatine six to 8 weeks of age, and 15 sub-adult aureate eagles betwixt 4 months and 3 years from nan Scottish Highlands.

SSGEP chair Michael Clarke said: "Thanks to our outer tagging, we tin corroborate that immoderate are opening to task into Northumberland and further afield and these sightings reaffirm nan value of america extending our groundbreaking work."

The birds person besides visited nan North Pennines and nan Lake District, moreover travelling arsenic acold arsenic nan Forest of Boland successful Lancashire and Nidderdale successful Yorkshire.

"While it is excessively early to opportunity if they are settling successful these areas, it is simply a perchance breathtaking and important milestone," Mr Clarke said.

Golden eagles were wiped retired successful England and Wales by nan mid-19th Century, chiefly owed to persecution by those who saw them arsenic a threat to livestock aliases crippled birds.

Despite a little return pursuing nan 2 world wars, erstwhile driven shoots mostly ceased, numbers gradually declined again pinch nan past resident aureate eagle successful England disappearing from nan Lake District successful 2015.

The UK's remaining organization was past mostly confined to nan Scottish Highlands and Islands, peculiarly successful remote, mountainous regions.

Dr Cat Barlow, CEO of nan kindness Restoring Upland Nature, which has taken SSGEP nether its wing, said it is not astonishing to nan birds "exploring successful England".

"In nan first fewer years of life, nan birds will spell looking for caller territory, looking for a mate, looking for caller feeding grounds," she said.

"They'll get up precocious successful nan entity and caput for nan areas that look absorbing to them, usually those distant upland areas.

"They create a ocular representation of wherever they've been and erstwhile they find what they deliberation is simply a bully place, they'll settee location and effort and pull a mate."

Welcoming a imaginable move south, she said: "I'm from County Durham myself and I'd emotion to spot them backmost for bully there."

It is not yet clear whether a aureate eagle organization successful areas for illustration nan Lake District, aliases nan Northumberland Uplands will found itself without birds being brought from Scotland.

"In theory, arsenic disposable territories capable up successful nan southbound of Scotland, eagles will statesman to move into England and they person been visiting aged nest sites," Dr Barlow said.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust CEO Mike Pratt said: "They don't spot a separator and nan scenery either broadside of nan borders of England and Scotland is truthful akin it's not a astonishment they're coming south.

"The sightings are almost for illustration nan aureate eagles giving their blessing and saying that nan scenery tin return them."

The kindness has precocious acquired nan Rothbury Estate successful Northumberland; 9,500 acres of onshore which see nan Simonside Hills.

Mr Pratt hopes 1 time aureate eagles will beryllium coming there.

"It won't beryllium a rushed process and we'll beryllium consulting carefully, but nan task successful nan southbound of Scotland has been specified a success, group really emotion them.

"I would for illustration to deliberation nan aforesaid could hap here."

Mr Glendinning has seen aureate eagles 3 much times since that first daze sighting successful March and feels a consciousness of "wonderment" each time.

"They conscionable fresh successful perfectly pinch nan landscape, I conscionable felt a existent consciousness of amazement that they are location and I tin spot them," he said.

"It conscionable feels for illustration they beryllium here."