PLEASE IDENTIFY THIS BIRD OF PREY

Hi Frank

I'm no expert on this but unless it an escapee from a collection then the sheer size would suggest a white-tailed eagle. The adults have a noticable white tail but juveniles don't initially. The fact that it was ringed and tagged might suggest that it was done in the nest.

There is a small population in the west of Scotland but there is also a reintoduction programme taking place on the east coast of Scotland. Check out this link about the project and also has links to blogs on reported sightings.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/w/whitetailedeagle/index.aspx

I've never seen one in this country but I have seen them on the continent. I can attest to their size. They are really BIG and often referred to as a flying barn door.

I'm sure others more expert than me will give their view.

Cheers

TJ

Yups-  I reckon an escaped falconers bird- probably an eagle species- they seem to keep almost anything :)

S

I think white tailed eagle as falconary birds don't usually have wing tags, you'd probably have noticed the jesses around the feet had it been an escapee as well and possibly bells. Blue is a colour used for wing tags for white tailed eagles and the tags do have letters or numbers on them so the bird can be identified.

thanks everyone,

having looked at some pictures i am still not sure what it may be.

some reference to it been a younster seem to be the best bet as it didnt have defined markings.

upon refelection of the event i do recall hearing bells which reafirms my initial thoughts its an escapee.

is there a site where people register lost birds

frank

I think your best bet will be to contact your local falconry group/club/centre and see if they have had any birds go missing or missing birds been reported to them if you suspect it is an escapee.  It may also be worth contacting the RSPCA/SPCA to see if they have had anything reported to them, maybe even local newspapers as I would be surprised if a bird that size escaping failed to gain at least a small mention in the local papers.

Nice one John. I knew someone would have better info. The blue tags do seem to accord with the description TONOAVAIL gave but of course we don't know where (even approximately) he saw it.

I notice from the blogs that they have been spotted in northern England incuding Cumbria and Blacktoft Sands on the Humber.I gave the wrong link in my previous post; here's the correct one.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/blogs/eastscotlandeagles/default.aspx

TJ