UK's largest bird of prey an 'unforgettable' sight

Photographers have captured a rare sighting of the UK's largest bird of prey in a moment they say they will "never forget".

A white-tailed eagle was spotted at the Cley Marshes nature reserve in north Norfolk this week, soaring in the sky and scouring for prey.

The impressive birds can grow to have a wingspan of up to 2.4m (7.8ft) and they were hunted to extinction but in recent years they have been successfully reintroduced in southern England and Scotland.

The sighting sent photographers rushing to spot it, including Gary Roberts, 61, who said it was "hard to impress" how big the bird was.

The bird, also known as a sea eagle, had what appeared to be the remains of a goose in its talons as it flew over the marshes and sea gulls were seen flying alongside it.

Jane Crossen, from Sheringham, said there was a real buzz among visitors to Cley when the bird was spotted earlier this week.

"Everyone was talking about it, it is a moment people will not forget," she said.

She said she ran to the hide along with other photographers after hearing news of its sighting.

"The amount of 'wows' coming from people around the reserve was a joy to behold," she added.

"The Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve centre was buzzing too, the views must have been spectacular from there."

Roberts, from Brancaster, added that it was an "absolutely stunning" sight.

The male white-tailed eagle is one of 25 thought to be living in England, while in Scotland there are as many as 200.

Roy Dennis, whose wildlife foundation is working to reintroduce the species, said the bird, which hatched last summer, was the first to fledge in the wild in Dorset for hundreds of years.

"It is a very interesting bird and its parents are two birds that were released on the Isle of Wight," he said.

"For the last 10 days it was spotted off the Isle of Wight, it flew to Kent then across the outer Thames before passing Ipswich and Great Yarmouth before reaching the north Norfolk coast.

"By Thursday it had reached Dersingham."

Dennis said its movements were typical for a white-tailed eagle in its first two years.

"They will wander around England looking for places that are good to live but after a couple of years it will almost certainly return to Dorset," he said.

"It is on its exploring year, on a Spring holiday."

The reintroduction of the species is being managed by the Roy Dennis Foundation and 10 more are due to be released in the south of England this summer, some at Exmoor National Park.

Work was under way to investigate the potential release of white-tailed eagles at Wild Ken Hill in west Norfolk.

Dennis said this project was currently "on the back burner" but introducing the birds somewhere in East Anglia remained an ambition for the future.

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