The sighting gives conservationists from Cornwall Wildlife Trust and Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society hope that the species could breed in Cornwall within the next 20 years.
The White-tailed Eagle was captured in a series of spectacular photographs by amateur photographer Cat Lake on Bodmin Moor. The juvenile is one of six released on the Isle of Wight as part of a reintroduction programme run by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England.
White-tailed Eagle flying high near Bodmin Moor, Image by Cat Lake Photography
Other former breeding birds like Chough and Cirl Bunting have become re-established in Cornwall, showing the potential for previously-lost species to make a comeback.
Almost half of breeding birds have declined in Cornwall, as revealed in our State of Nature Cornwall 2020 Report released in partnership with Cornwall Council and the University of Exeter.
Read the full State of Nature Cornwall 2020 Report, including both positive and negative trends and pressures upon Cornwall's nature that we have identified.
