A group of 30 young conservationists recently had an unforgettable experience when they got to study the first wild fledged White-tailed Eagle to be born in Dorset in nearly 240 years. The encounter occurred in mid-January during an organised boat trip in Poole Harbour for children aged between 13-18, which was being hosted by Dorset based charity Birds of Poole Harbour as part of their ‘Young Birders’ club, a project that aims to inspire and educate teenagers on the importance of nature recovery.

The young eagle known as ‘G834’ is the first White-tailed Eagle to fledge from a wild nest in Dorset since the 1700’s and is a direct result of the popular reintroduction program that’s currently being carried out from the Isle of Wight by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. During the boat trip, the group of budding young conservationists got to observe and study G834 eating a flatfish on the mudflats in a quiet corner of Poole Harbour. Fish are the favoured prey item of the eagles, but this was the first time the youngster had been observed behaving in this way, which is a very encouraging sign of its development. For most of the guests on board this was the first time they’d ever seen a White-tailed Eagle. These majestic birds were once widespread in southern England but became extinct in England in 1780 due to relentless persecution. The project based on the Isle of Wight aims to restore a breeding population to England, and the signs are already very good, with two pairs nesting successfully in southern England in 2025.

Birds of Poole Harbour Project organiser Sam Ryde said:

“This was such an important and historical moment. To be able to show a group of young conservationists a wild born White-tailed Eagle right here in Dorset is beyond special. Not only that, to be able to explain to them how these projects work, why it’s important and actually show them the outcome is what it’s all about. These reintroduction projects change the baseline for what’s considered ‘normal’ in these landscapes. For many people here in Dorset and Poole Harbour White-tailed Eagles are a new-comer due to the fate they suffered all those years ago. However, kids will now grow up in Dorset with White-tailed Eagles having always been a part of their local heritage, which they’ll want to continue to protect and conserve”

White-tailed Eagles are the largest bird of prey species in the UK with a wingspan of up to 2.5m and their diet consists mostly of fish, waterbirds, carrion and small mammals. The parents of G834 were released from the Isle of Wight in 2020 as part of the licenced reintroduction and spent the first few years of their lives exploring the UK, with the male, known as ‘G463’ even venturing as far as Sweden in the third year of his life. The adult pair formed in spring 2023 and spent the rest of that year and the whole of 2024 establishing their territory in Dorset, before successfully breeding in the summer of 2025. The young eagle fledged from the Dorset nest in August of 2025 but promptly disappeared off out of county for the rest of the year and wasn’t seen again until his return in early January. All of the eagles are fitted with small satellite trackers so the project team know exactly where they are at all times, meaning they could monitor the young eagles’ progress as he moved around southern England. The observation of G834 from the Birds of Poole Harbour Young Birders boat trip was the first time he’d been seen back in the harbour since fledging in August last year, making the whole experience even more important, exciting and historical.

Young conservationist and guest on board the memorable trip Joe Scorey explained:

“It had been a busy first hour on the boat trip with bustling mud flats of Avocet, Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits. We had been enthralled with hundreds of birds zipping past the boat. When all of a sudden a shout from the back of the boat broke the cold winter air, “White tailed Eagle!!!!” A mad dash to find a viewing point broke out, binoculars scrambling to find the bird then all of a sudden a hush spread around the boat all captivated by the sheer size of the bird”

Young White-tailed Eagle G834 seen from Young Birders Boat Trip – Joe Scorey

Another young conservationist on board Harry Bridle added:

“To see eagles in the wild after an absence from the region for a few hundred years and seeing them successfully thriving shows that reintroductions are great and should be encouraged more and more. To see such an impressive bird is really amazing and I think these projects can really spark an interest in the younger community. I am also really keen to see other projects develop such as the idea of bringing Chough back to the Dorset coast”

Young White-tailed Eagle G834 seen from Young Birders Boat Trip – Joe Scorey

Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation concluded:

“It is really encouraging that the eagles are fitting into the landscape in southern England so well, and that members of the public get such a thrill from seeing them. It is wonderful that Birds of Poole Harbour are providing an opportunity for people of all ages to see the eagles from their brilliant boat trips, and particularly heartening that young people are growing up with a chance of seeing a White-tailed Eagle on their doorstep, like those lucky enough to be on board this particular trip were able to do. We hope that seeing these majestic birds back in southern England demonstrates to people that it is possible to restore nature and lost species.”