The Eagles have landed

YOUNG BIRDS BRING SIGNS OF HOPE TO ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

Two different 'eagle re-introduction' projects both announced their breeding success stories this week (20th August 2025).

Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation revealed that three White-tailed eagle chicks fledged from wild nests in the south of England this summer - two in Sussex and the first in Dorset for 240 years, bringing the total born through their re-introduction project so far to six. England's White-tailed eagles were wiped out by hunters in the 19th century and this project was launched in 2019 to bring them back to the south coast.

"This is a long-term project, and it will take some years before the population is fully restored, but the progress made over the last year has been incredibly encouraging," said Roy Dennis, the foundation's founder.

Meanwhile the birth of a Golden eagle chick in southern Scotland has been hailed "a conservation milestone", with Sir David Attenborough being asked to name it. He's called the eaglet 'Princeling', meaning 'young prince', which he said was a symbol of 'new hope for the restoration of the species' whose population in southern Scotland had fallen to as low as 3 in 2018. Since then, it's risen to over 50 with the help of 'Restoring Upland Nature' who've been reviving eagle habitats and relocating Golden Eagles from the Highlands to the south.

Princeling is the first chick to be born to an already translocated eagle, Emma, who mated with Keith, a member of the local eagle population in Galloway.

"Seeing Princeling thrive in the south of Scotland brings renewed hope to our ambition to reverse biodiversity decline and ensure current and future generations across the UK ... can experience that incredible sense of awe on seeing golden eagles soar." said Dr Cat Barlow, CEO of Restoring Upland Nature.