'Flying barn doors' take to the skies

NINETEEN white-tailed sea eagles have been released into the wild as part of a reintroduction programme.

The birds arrived as chicks from Norway in June and have since been reared in specially-built aviaries until they were old enough to fledge.

They were released over the past week from a secret location in Fife, RSPB Scotland said today.

The birds, the UK's largest, were once a regular sight in Scotland's skies, but were driven to extinction by game preservers and collectors in the Victorian era, with the last bird killed in 1916.

Dubbed "flying barn doors" they only returned to the UK following a successful reintroduction to the west of Scotland, on the island of Rum in 1975.

The birds of prey are now being introduced on the other side of the country as part of the East Scotland Sea Eagle reintroduction project, a partnership scheme between RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Forestry Commission Scotland.

Between 2007 and 2009 44 birds were released, and 33 survived.

The released birds often roost in small groups and have spent their time investigating the coasts, glens and firths of Scotland.