Call of the wild returns as sea eagles take to the skies over Fife

A GROUP of young white-tailed eagles have taken to the skies for the first time as part of a reintroduction programme in the east of Scotland.

The 16 eagles have been released from a secret location in Fife in the latest efforts to restore the UK's largest bird of prey, which was hunted to extinction by the early 20th century, to its former range.

They arrived from Norway in June and were reared in specially built aviaries, being fed grey squirrel, roe deer and haddock, until they could fledge.

The programme to bring back the eagles, which are also known as "sea eagles" or dubbed "flying barn doors" because of their 8ft wing span, to the east of Scotland, has seen 80 birds released since it began in 2007.

The East Scotland Sea Eagle project is a partnership between RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Forestry Commission Scotland.

It follows a successful scheme to reintroduce white-tailed eagles which began in 1975, on the island of Rum, and established a population in the west of Scotland.

A recent survey on behalf of the RSPB said the birds were now helping to generate some 5 million a year on Mull, off the west coast of Scotland.