A white tailed eagle has been spotted at a nature reserve. 

One of the magnificent birds was recently seen soaring through the sky at the RSPB Pulborough Brooks reserve.

The birds were driven to extinction in England following relentless persecution.

The last pair bred on Culver Cliff on the Isle of Wight in 1780. 

In 2019, the first white tailed eagles to be reintroduced to England were released on the Isle of Wight.

Six young birds, the first to be returned to southern England for 240 years, were brought in as part of a five-year programme to restore this lost species. The project was led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation.

In November 2022, Forestry England said two white tailed eagles from their reintroduction programme in West Sussex, released in 2020 are now holding territory. 

The birds have been spotted regularly in the Arun Valley where they hunt for fish over vast wetlands.

Their diet also includes birds, small mammals, rabbits, gulls, and carrion, making them important for maintaining balanced populations of these species.