A White tailed Eagle on Bodmin Moor. 26th Dec 2021.

White tailed Eagle at Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall,

 

Eagles are majestic birds and seeing one does stir your senses, but to see one near home in Cornwall is very exciting.

I kept seeing and hearing reports of a white tailed eagle around the Bodmin moor area and had 2 fruitless trips up there looking for it.

On Boxing Day morning I got lucky. I'd parked the car at the top of the lane that runs down to the Loveny reserve and hide, knowing that it was now out of bounds to people after a couple of issues with cattle had been reported.

However this spot gave me the best views of the North arm of the reservoir which is surprisingly low on water despite all the rain we've had. I'm guessing this suits the eagle as there are many suitable dead stumps & snags for it to perch on and consume fish.

After a an hour and a half I spotted it flying towards me at a reasonable height and thinking it was going to pitch up on the ground in the corner of the reservoir I started taking a few photos.

It didn't land but circled once almost over my head before disappearing over the hill toward the forestry of Halvana Plantation.

My first sighting of one of these birds in Cornwall & indeed in the UK I think.

Local birders think this is one of the birds that have been released on the Isle of Wight in conjunction with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation & Forestry England. As such I've logged the details on their website with photos and will await confirmation.

The bird does appear to have a metal ring on its right leg and also looks to have a GPS transmitter at the back of its neck.

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UPDATE from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation....

Dear Adrian,

Many thanks for taking the time to send in your Eagle sighting. I can confirm that the bird that you have seen is a female with the leg ring

G405 she was released from the Isle of Wight in 2020 so is in her second calendar year (1 year old in human terms). The young Eagles are very nomadic you can find out more about her movements here:

https://www.roydennis.org/category/sea-eagle/isle-of-wight-sea-eagles/

All records are useful and will be added to our database.

Best wishes,

Zoe Smith

Associate Ornithologist

Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation

www.roydennis.org

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White tailed Eagle at Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall,

White tailed Eagle at Colliford Lake, Bodmin Moor, Cornwall,

 

My previous views have been in Norway, Poland, Hungary & a captive bird used for hunting by a falconer in the Czech Republic. 

Here are a few images from my archives.....

 

A wild White tailed Eagle, Norway.

 

 

A wild White tailed Eagle, Hungary.

A wild White tailed Eagle, Hungary.

 

A wild White tailed Eagle, Poland.

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

 

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.

Falconry hunting White tailed Eagle, Czech Republic.