ENDANGERED SPECIES : THE WHITE TAILED EAGLE

The white-tailed eagle is a very large bird. It measures 66–94 cm (26–37 in) in length with a
1.78–2.45 m (5.8–8.0 ft) wingspan. The wingspan, with a midpoint of 2.18 m (7.2 ft), is on
average the largest of any eagle.[3][4] The Steller's sea eagle, larger in both weight and total
length, is the closest rival for median wingspan amongst living eagles. The bald eagle is
roughly the same size as the white-tailed eagle, although has a shorter average wingspan
and usually longer total length, due to a longer tail. Females, typically weighing 4–6.9 kg
(8.8–15.2 lb), are slightly larger than males, which weigh 3.1–5.4 kg (6.8–11.9 lb)n The
record weight for the species was 7.5 kg (17 lb) for a specimen from Scotland, while a more
recent huge female from Greenland reportedly spanned 2.53 m (8.3 ft) across the wings.
Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 55.2–71.7 cm (21.7–28.2 in), the tail is
25–33 cm (9.8–13.0 in), the tarsus is 9.2–10.1 cm (3.6–4.0 in) and the exposed culmen is 6–
6.5 cm (2.4–2.6 in). Size variation is generally a clinal trend: measurements of eagles from
Greenland are in general larger than in other populations of the species, while those from
the (now discontinuous) population in the Middle East, at the southern extreme of this
species distribution, are the smallest in the species. The white-tailed eagle is sometimes
considered the fourth largest eagle in the world and is on average the fourth heaviest eagle
in the world.

This species has broad "barn door" wings, a large head and a large thick beak. The adult
is mainly grayish-brown except for the slightly paler head and neck, blackish flight feathers,
and distinctive white tail. All bare parts are yellow in color, including both the bill and the
legs. In juvenile birds, tail and bill are darker, the tail becoming white with a dark terminal
band in sub-adults.The combination of mousy-brown coloration, broad, evenly held wings,
white tail, strong yellow bill and overall large size render the white-tailed eagle essentially
unmistakable in its native range. Some individuals have been found to live over 25 years, 21
years being the average.

White-tailed eagles, being apex predators, tend to experience bioaccumulation from

environmental pollutants present in their prey; they also suffer intensive persecution by
shepherds and gamekeepers who consider them (usually wrongly) a threat to their livestock
and gamebirds. During the period 1800-1970, white-tailed eagles in most of Europe
underwent dramatic declines and became extinct in many regions of western, central and
southern Europe.

A white tailed eagle was shot in the winter of 1857 at Stolford in Bridgwater Bay and
subsequently preserved for display. It may be seen at the Somerset Heritage Centre (TA2
6SF). It was presented to the county museum by Miss Bailey, the executrix of the owner's
will, in 1881.
 While Norway, Germany, Poland and Iceland harboured the largest surviving populations,
pockets of reproducing pairs remained in several other countries. Intense conservation
actions throughout much of the remaining European distribution range (legal protection to
decrease hunting, protection of breeding sites, and winter feeding) led to recovery of many
local populations. Since the 1980s, the European white-tailed eagle population has
recovered steadily and is spreading back westward. It has today recolonised several
traditional breeding areas in Europe. This ongoing recovery is assisted in Scotland and
Ireland by reintroduction schemes.

Some threats still remain, notably illegal persecution by gamebird shooting and egg
thieves in Scotland. A new threat from wind turbines is emerging with significant mortality
(considerably in excess of the area's population productivity) occurring at the Smøla
Windfarm in Norway

White-tailed eagles were successfully reintroduced to the Isle of Rum, in the Small Isles
archipelago in Scotland, in 1975 and now breeds throughout the Western Isles and the
mainland coast of Wester Ross. One of its Gaelic names is 'iolaire sùil na grèine' or 'eagle of
the sunlit eye. In August 2008, fifteen chicks raised in Norway were released at a secret
location in Fife, in expectation of reintroducing the species to the east coast of Scotland as
well. The white-tailed eagle is still a rare breeder in Britain following its extinction and
reintroduction, with 36 pairs in 2006 and 40 in 2008.

On 22 May 2006, it was announced that a pair of white-tailed eagles breeding in the
Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve in the Netherlands had arrived on their own, not as a
reintroduction. This was the first time the bird has bred in the Netherlands in living memory.
In 2007, 2008 and 2009 the eagles returned to their nest. In 2010, it turned out that the
white-tailed eagle was also breeding in the Zwarte Meer nature district and in the
Lauwersmeer area. There is also a confirmed case of breeding white-tailed eagles in the
Biesbosch.

The white-tailed eagle is being reintroduced to Ireland, where its Irish name of Iolar Mara
(sea eagle) reflects its historic association with the island's long coast. The program was
begun in the summer of 2007. Fifteen to twenty young eagles from Norway are being
released each spring into the Killarney National Park in the south-west of Ireland. This
comprehensive project will last a number of years, with many more eagles being released.
The species has a rich history on the island but became extinct in Ireland in the 1900s due to
persecution from landowners. The last pair bred on the coast of Mayo in 1912.

In 2007, a hundred local sheep farmers gathered at Kerry airport to protest the eagles'
arrival. Irish Farming Association Hill Committee chairman Mr O'Leary said he had no doubt
the eagles would take lambs. Since their reintroduction seven eagles have been confirmed
poisoned in County Kerry, two suspected of having been poisoned, and one shot. A 13th
eagle released in Kerry was shot in Northern Ireland. Twenty more eagles were due for
release in 2010. However, Dr Allan Mee, in charge of the sea eagle project, stated "the
continuing loss of eagles to poisoning had cast a shadow over the future of the ambitious
programme." The first white-tailed eagle breeding pair since 1912 nested 100 years later on
Lough Derg (Loch Deirgeirt), marking a great success for the Irish reintroduction
programme. In early May 2013, the first eaglets were born in Ireland since the re-introduction
programme began; one in the Killarney National Park and two in County Clare. In Spring
2015, five nests hatched chicks in 4 counties in Ireland - Clare, Cork, Galway and Kerry.

Studies of microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA in white-tailed eagles from north-central

Europe have shown that the recovering European population has retained appreciable
amounts of genetic diversity, implying low risk of inbreeding depression (a serious concern in
species with low population density). Therefore, recovery of this formerly endangered
species is a true success story for nature conservation. The story also shows how local
protection of a species can be successful and important for preserving the species'
evolutionary potential.