Both the Golden Eagle/Eryr euraid and the White-tailed Eagle/Eryr y mor were once a common sight across the skies of Wales and much of the UK. The Eagle Reintroduction Wales (ERW) project is looking into the feasibility of bringing the sea eagle species back to Wales where there is an abundance of suitable habitats. The project led by Welsh Raptor Conservationist Dr. Sophie-lee Williams is gathering scientific evidence and collating a research case to present to statutory conservation agencies to restore these species back to their historic Welsh homes.
In the case of restoring eagles to Wales, the statutory conservation organisation in charge of issuing licences is Natural Resources Wales (NRW). These licencing applications include comprehensive assessments and information about:
- The biological feasibility – history, conservation status, population distribution, diet, habitat, genetics, source population.
- The environmental feasibility – release location, suitable habitat, available nest sites & prey availability.
- The ecological feasibility – positive ecological impacts, negative ecological impacts, regional habitats regulations assessments (HRA).
- The social feasibility – positive socio-economic, and negative socio-economic impacts, public opinion survey, and local consultations with key communities and interest groups.
- Project practicalities – release site, release and translocation strategy, risk assessments & partnerships.
The project team is testing the possibility of collecting younger birds from Norway so they can be released earlier, which they believe will help the adolescent eagles settle and survive in the wild.
However, rearing younger birds in captivity runs the risk of the eaglets imprinting on humans, which could lead to them seeking out people rather than avoiding them in the wild. To guard against this danger, the handlers will wear long robes and feed the young eagles chopped rabbit and other meat with bird hand-puppets.
“You can look after [white-tailed eagles], but they can never see you. You have to disguise your human form at all times,” says Eric Heath, a species recovery expert at the wetlands restoration charity the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust who is in charge of bringing the eagles to the UK.
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