White-Tailed Sea Eagle
"Atlantis"
Atlantis turned 30 years old in 2020 so she's the veteran of the British Bird of Prey Centre team. She joined us from The International Centre for Birds of Prey in Newent at the end of 2017 after Angus, our juvenile WTSE, was sadly electrocuted. She has settled in nicely and is already flying well. It will take a little time for her to get fit as she is a bit older, but she knows how to fly so in the right conditions looks spectacular soaring over the gardens.
For more information on our conservation project with Western Power to make our power lines safer or on the WTSE reintroduction projects please check out our Conservation page
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WHITE-TAILED SEA EAGLE FACTS
Haliaeetus albicilla
TERRITORY/LOCATION
The largest population in Europe is found along the coast of Norway and Russia, with important populations also found in south-west Greenland, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Germany. Small numbers can be found in the rest of Europe, the Middle East, China, India and Mongolia. The population in 2008 stood at 9,000–11,000 pairs.
HABITAT
Inhabits large, open expanses of lake, coast or river valley in temperate regions and tundra zones. It prefers to be close to undisturbed cliffs or open stands of large, mature trees for nesting.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Least Concern
DIET
The diet is varied, opportunistic and seasonal, prey specimens can often include fish, birds and mammals. The daily food requirement is in range of 500–600g. Virtually any fish found near the surface is potential prey for the white-tailed eagle. Commercial fisheries and carp ponds are readily exploited by the eagles when available. Although, given the opportunity, they occasionally kill and harass some land birds, usually target water-based birds as prey.
SIZE/WEIGHT
It measures 66–94 cm in length with a 178–245cm wingspan, weighing 4–6.9 kg (8.8–15.2 lb), are slightly larger than males, which weigh 3100 –5400g .The record weight for the species was 7500g.
NESTING
The nest is a huge edifice of sticks in a tree or on a coastal cliff. Being faithful to their territories, once they breed, nests are often reused, sometimes for decades by successive generations of birds; one nest in Iceland has been in use for over 150 years. sexually mature at four to five years of age, breeding from March – May laying 1-3 eggs.
LIFE EXPECTANCY
21 years old average
25 years oldest recorded in the wild
42 years oldest recorded in captivity
SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION
KINGDOM
Animalia
PHYLUM
Chordata
CLASS
Aves
ORDER
Accipitriformes
FAMILY
Accipitridae
GENUS
Haliaeetus
SPECIES
H. albicilla
DID YOU KNOW?
There are now 100 pairs of white-tailed sea eagles living across Scotland. One of the latest eaglets to hatch in a Fife woodland has been tagged and ringed in advance of its first flight away from the nest.
