The White-tailed Eagle Returns

Posted by Rosemary Drisdelle Aug 28, 2006

On August 15, 2006, the Copenhagen Post reported that the 2006 breeding season has been a huge success for White-tailed Eagles. The birds had become extinct in Denmark by about 1900, and none returned until 1995. It's thought that the returning birds came from Germany and Sweden - this year, 24 eaglets join the growing population in Denmark.

White-tailed eagles are rare throughout their range and were extinct in the UK as well, becoming scarce there in the 1800s and disappearing completely in 1918. Here and elsewhere in Europe, the birds were deliberately targeted by people: they were blamed for taking livestock and fish, and renowned in folklore for powers of both good and evil. In 1975, reintroduction efforts began, bringing birds to the UK from Norway. A self-sustaining, though threatened, White-tailed Eagle population now thrives in western Scotland, closely guarded by the Scottish Natural Heritage.

Read about other birds that are making a comeback:

Endangered Piping Plovers

Red-billed Choughs Return to Cornwall England

Two Whooping Crane Chicks Born in the Wild Make History in Wisconsin