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The Cley Bird Club has received the following from Leo Batten and Richard Porter. There appear to be mixed views on this amongst club members – WE WOULD LIKE YOUR VIEWS.
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Report to Cley Bird Club for consideration
The proposed introduction of White-tailed Eagles into Norfolk has raised much concern amongst birdwatchers and conservationists in Norfolk. Unfortunately their voices haven’t been listened to by Natural England who have now granted a licence for the (re) introduction.
Several local birdwatchers have formally presented their opposition to Natural England and also the NWT and National Trust, including Steve Harris and James McCallum. These concerns have been backed by detailed documentation by David Appleton and Richard Millington – see below.
The first concern is the evidence that White-tailed Eagles ever bred in Norfolk or even East Anglia. The evidence strongly suggests they have never done so. If correct then this would make this an introduction (not re-introduction) and thus illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. A paper by David Appleton is the main reference for this.
More importantly, however, is the impact that the introductions might have on the two internationally important tern colonies on the North Norfolk coast – on Scolt Head and Blakeney Point, 12 and 30 kms respectively from the release site. White-tailed eagles are known to predate terns.
These colonies are highly vulnerable to both disturbance and predation as regularly witnessed by the National Trust Rangers and volunteers. The presence of a White-tailed Eagle when the terns are nesting, or preparing to nest, is even likely to result in the birds abandoning the site. The terns are especially prone to desertion when starting to nest. Furthermore the large creches of fledgling Sandwich Terns might prove very attractive to an eagle with hungry young to feed. Data collated by Richard Millington show the impact that White-tailed Eagles have had in other parts of their natural range.
The two colonies on Scolt Head and Blakeney Point have over 6,000 pairs of breeding Sandwich Terns, over 300 pairs of Common Terns and recently over 400 pairs of Little Terns. These are huge and important colonies in global terms and the UK has an international responsibility to ensure they are safeguarded. The introduction of this top predator into Norfolk would be most unwise, in terms of our conservation priorities and responsibilities.
Finally none of the people who have expressed concern about, or oppose, the introduction of White-tailed Eagles into Norfolk are opposed to their reintroduction into other parts of the UK where they formerly bred and where it is most unlikely they will impact on vulnerable nesting birds. They are also aware that birds from these re-introductions might well colonise Norfolk ‘naturally’, but that is now beyond anyone’s control.
Leo Batten, Richard Porter
Reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles into Norfolk by David Appleton.
White-tailed Eagles eat birds by Richard Millington.
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“Personally, I am not in favour of the (re)introduction of White-tailed Eagle into Norfolk, largely for reasons already given regarding our Tern colonies and other sensitive species.
I would prefer that energies and resources were spent on supporting some of our (less glamorous) resident species such as Tree Sparrow and Corn Bunting etc which are struggling to thrive in our area.
I do wonder sometimes as to what the true motives are behind all these so called (re)introductions.
Cheers, Steve H “
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It appears, from the literature provided, that the (re)introduction of the WTE is not a conservation priority and, therefore, should not be supported.It does, however, have the support of the Roy Dennis Foundation led by a man, an ardent conservationist, with an illustrious pedigree in the field.I wonder whether the reasons for his support should be presented on this forum together with the views of other relevant conservation organisations such as Natural England, RSPB, NWT,NOA, National Trust and the Ken Hill Project itself. Thanks for putting this on the forum.
Malcolm Davies
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Hi Cley Bird Forum,
I have to admit to being supportive of the Roy Dennis Foundation’s work, and I’m an admirer of Roy Dennis’s outstanding career – in awe of his determination and achievements would not be putting it too highly
However, I do find the analysis by David Appleton logical, comprehensive and compelling in questioning the ecological basis for the issue of a licence by Natural England for this this particular project at Wild Ken Hill.
In the sub-regional context of North Norfolk, particularly keeping in mind the national importance of the tern breeding colonies at Scolt Head and Blakeney Point National Nature Reserves, the licensing of this project is surely too risky to go ahead and should quickly be reviewed by Natural England, with explicit reasons for the outcome being made public well before the 2022 cohort of eagle chicks might become available. The precautionary principle surely rules here: it looks to me that there has been insufficient research to allow this project to start in 2022, and the licence appears flawed and probably open to legal challenge.
I continue to wish the Isle of Wight project much success, but the possible negative impact of a parallel translocation project in Norfolk outweighs its merits. Incidentally, as a member of both Norfolk and Suffolk Wildlife Trusts, I do support the idea of an Osprey chick translocation to the Suffolk estuaries area, utilising any surplus from the Rutland Water population.
Graham White, Martlesham Heath, Suffolk
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I know that I am coming in a bit late to this discussion and I suspect the subject has now been resolved in some way or other but I did have concerns over the similar proposal some years ago and have never really thought that we have quite the right habitat in this part of Norfolk.
I have however seen White-tailed Eagles in inland wetland habitats in France, Hungary, Poland and along the Danube east of Vienna, I also believe that they have colonised Holland naturally in recent times.
Although we do not seem to have historic evidence that they ever bred on the great fens of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk before they were drained 400 years or more ago, from what I have seen in eastern Europe it wouldn’t surprise me if they once did.
As the new ‘Great Fen’ project develops over time I presume there will be opportunities for them to establish themselves into this habitat naturally, as have other wetland birds such as Egrets and Spoonbills done so elsewhere, and that in itself would provide proof, if that were needed, that they were right to be there.
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It has come to our notice that this re-introduction project has been put on hold. The following is taken from the Wild Ken Hill Blog site
EAGLE PROJECT ON HOLD
We have reluctantly decided that we will not reintroduce White-tailed Eagles at Wild Ken Hill in 2022 as planned.
We continue to believe that the restoration of White-tailed Eagles to Eastern England is an important and inevitable conservation goal, and also that the original plans for a release beginning in 2022 could have been delivered very successfully in partnership with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation.
We have, however, taken the difficult decision to focus on other aspects of our nationally-significant nature and regenerative farming project. In particular, we feel it is worth putting our full weight behind the pioneering innovations we are making as part of our regenerative farming approach. The greater biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and improved profitability demonstrated at Wild Ken Hill with this approach over the last 3 years have the potential to have a huge impact across the UK if adopted by others; we feel it is therefore imperative to focus on these. In addition to regenerative farming, Wild Ken Hill supports beavers and is a release site for Natural England’s curlew headstarting project.
We are sure that the restoration of the White-tailed Eagle to England will continue successfully on the Isle of Wight, and we hope that dispersing juvenile eagles continue to visit Wild Ken Hill and the Norfolk Coast, attracted by the area’s suitable habitat.
We wanted to specifically and publicly offer our apologies to the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, who have been exceptional project partners to date and a pleasure to work with.
We also would like to thank and apologise to those that supported this project when participating in the consultation, particularly the 91% of the general public that offered their support and the many landmanagers and conservation organisations that did the same.
We will shortly be in touch with those that supported the Crowdfunding campaign to offer a full refund.
Wild Ken Hill
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