White Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)
Description
This huge Eagle is the largest raptor of Northern Europe. It is heavily built with a large head and massive yellow bill. Its huge wings are broad and parrallel-sided, with widespread primary feathers at the end which resemble fingers.
From above, adult birds are dark brown with yellowish-brown wing coverts, pale buff to cream head and white tail. From below, they are greyish-brown.
The White-tailed Eagle had been extinct in the British Isles since 1916 due to persicution. In 1976, a reintroduction program begun using eaglets from Norway. In 1985, the first Scottish bred White-tailed Eagle fledged from a nest in the Hebrides.
Its diet is mainly fish or carrion but also seabirds and mammals. Its nest is a huge structure made from sticks in larges trees or on cliff leadge.
Flight
Heavy, shallow wingbeats, alternating with short glides. Head extends far forward to give rather front-heavy appearance. Flies low over water, hunting for fish near the surface. Also soars majestically over it’s territory.
Call
Load ‘kyowkyowkyow’, especially near nest.
Habitat
Rocky coasts, moorland, large forested lakes and rivers
Where to find White-tailed Eagle
Islands off the west coast of Scotland. Specifically, Isles of Mull and Rùm.