Photo Ⓒ Jeff Smith

White-tailed Eagle

Eryr y môr - Haliaeetus albicilla

The White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) belongs to the Accipitridae family, alongside other diurnal birds of prey such as hawks, harriers and buzzards. Often known as the sea eagle, it is the largest bird of prey in the UK. Adult males weigh on average around 4.5 kg (10 lb), while females are larger at approximately 6.9 kg (15 lb). Their wingspan is equally impressive, reaching an average of 2.18 m (7 ft) in males and up to 2.5 m (8 ft) in females.

White-tailed Eagles thrive along coastlines, rivers, lakes, wetlands and estuaries, favouring rich marine and freshwater environments. Wales provides ideal conditions for their return. Once a native and widespread species, the White-tailed Eagle disappeared from Wales in the 1830s. The last known breeding pair was recorded at Kenfig Burrows—now Kenfig National Nature Reserve—on the Swansea coast of South Wales.

White-tailed Eagles are highly adaptable predators, with over 300 prey species recorded in their diet. While they specialise in aquatic prey—including freshwater and marine fish, waterfowl, ducks, geese, swans, gulls, cormorants and herons—they are also opportunistic hunters. Their diet may additionally include carrion, rats, rabbits, hares, frogs and even cuttlefish.

Magnificent, versatile and strongly associated with wild coastal landscapes, the White-tailed Eagle is a true icon of Welsh natural heritage—and a species Eagle Reintroduction Wales aims to restore to the skies of modern Wales.

White-tailed eagle programme - Rhaglen eryr y mor

Project status:

Our White-tailed Eagle Programme has now completed all feasibility assessments to determine whether this species can be successfully restored to South-east Wales and the Severn Estuary. These assessments concluded that a reintroduction is both ecologically appropriate and highly favourable for Wales.

Following this work, the programme has submitted a formal licence application to Natural Resources Wales. If granted, the project will move into a five-year reintroduction phase —marking the beginning of a landmark conservation effort to bring Eryr y Môr back to soaring the skies if Wales.

Project partnerships:

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and Gwent Wildlife Trust

Junior partnerships:

British Birds of Prey Centre and Cardiff University

Project Funding:

Our White-tailed Eagle programme is currently being funded by the Ecological Restoration Fund.

Feasibility Reports for Southeast Wales:

All reports will be uploaded to the ERW website soon. 

Other Research:

Lucy Rowley [2023-2026]. Understanding the genetic variation of current UK and European White-tailed eagles to inform future UK translocations. Cardiff University, PhD Thesis [Ongoing]. 

Andrew Peat [2023]. Population Viability Analysis to inform the reintroduction of White-tailed eagle to Southeast Wales. Cardiff University, Master Thesis [Onoging]. 

Gregory Miles [2023]. The spatial and temporal distribution of summer prey items for White-tailed eagles across the Severn Estuary & Bristol Channel. Cardiff University, Master Thesis [Ongoing].

Matthew Cooke [2023]. The spatial and temporal distribution of winter prey items for White-tailed eagles across the Severn Estuary & Bristol Channel. Cardiff University, Master Thesis [Ongoing].

Sophie-lee Williams, Sarah Perkins, Roy Dennis, James Byrne & Robert Thomas (2020). An evidence-based assessment of the past distribution of Golden and White-tailed Eagles across Wales. Conservation Science 2(8). Available here.

Lauren Rees (2020). Assessing Welsh public attitudes towards White-tailed Eagles in South Wales. Implications for future reintroduction. University of the West of England, Master Thesis [Unpublished].

Sophie-lee Williams [2021]. The Eagle Reintroduction Wales (ERW) project: An assessment to restore our native-lost eagles. Cardiff University, PhD Thesis. Available here.

Art Ⓒ Molly Bevan