Amidst all the excitement and enthusiasm for reintroducing white-tailed eagles, the fact that these birds will probably destroy our seabird colonies seems to have been completely overlooked,
Tim Birkhead, an emeritus professor of ecology and evolution at the University of Sheffield, told theguardian.com.
The reintroduction of white-tailed eagles into England and Wales is threatening endangered seabird populations and risking the collapse of entire breeding colonies, according to ecologists and conservationists. Populations of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, and kittiwakes face severe pressure as conservation groups debate the expansion of the apex predators.
In recent decades, modern conservation efforts have triumphed through the comeback of white-tailed eagles to Britain, following their 1918 extinction. Bringing eagle chicks over from Norway to Scotland in 1975 established a wild population that now reaches 200 breeding pairs, theguardian.com reported.
Project leaders have since released 45 birds on the Isle of Wight since 2019, with the first English-born wild bird fledging from an East Sussex nest in 2023. Proposals now call for releasing up to 60 eagles in Gwent, south Wales, alongside 20 young birds being released over the next three years on Exmoor.
The Gwent Wildlife Trust supports the proposed Gwent reintroduction, but the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales (WTSWW) is opposed. An eagle from the Exmoor release was recently sighted over Skomer, a south Wales island sanctuary for seabirds.
We’re increasingly alarmed about the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles across the UK as more evidence comes to light of their impact on cliff-nesting seabirds,
Sarah Kessell, chief executive of WTSWW, told theguardian.com. Highlighting a 20 percent drop in population over the past five years, Kessell pointed out that UK seabirds have experienced the most severe declines among all bird categories during this timeframe.
Prof Geoff Hilton, head of wetland evidence at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, defended the initiative. He noted that conservation action inherently carries risk that must be balanced against ecological opportunities.
Hilton cited a 2020 study of eagles east of the Baltic Sea showing that birds of particular conservation concern in the EU accounted for approximately 1 percent of identified prey. Organizers plan to establish seven to nine breeding pairs in Gwent over the next 10 years.
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