Britain's largest bird of prey, which was once extinct in this country, has been seen soaring in the sky above a city park.

The white-tailed eagle was spotted by a wildlife photographer at Nene Park in Peterborough on Monday morning.

The birds have been gradually reintroduced in the UK since 1975 but inland Peterborough is not one of their known strongholds, so the sighting caused some excitement on social media when photographs were posted.

Karen Aylin said she was "gobsmacked" when she realised what she was filming, and said it was "almost a once-in-a-lifetime" sighting.

The eagle was seen flying above the park on Monday [Karen@Peterborough Walks]
The eagle was seen flying above the park on Monday [Karen@Peterborough Walks]

Jon Carter, from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), said the birds were "now being seen in far more 'unlikely' places and the young birds, in particular, will cover extremely large distances and will roam for a few years before they settle to breed".

He confirmed the photographs were of a juvenile white-tailed eagle.

White-tailed eagles have a wingspan of up to 2.4 metres (8ft) and were once widespread across England.

Human persecution caused their extinction, with the last pair breeding in southern England in 1780 and the last breeding pair in the UK recorded in 1916.

The first successful reintroduction of the birds, which are also known as sea eagles, began in 1975 on the Isle of Rum, in Scotland's Inner Hebrides.

The birds of prey can be seen in the areas of the UK and Ireland highlighted in pink [BBC]
The birds of prey can be seen in the areas of the UK and Ireland highlighted in pink [BBC]

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The BTO confirmed the photographs were of a juvenile white-tailed eagle [Karen@Peterborough Walks]
The BTO confirmed the photographs were of a juvenile white-tailed eagle [Karen@Peterborough Walks]

Aylin posted photographs of the eagle on her wildlife site on Facebook - Peterborough Walks - and almost 2,000 people reacted, while hundreds of keen birdwatchers commented.

Some said they thought they had spotted it, but did not quite believe it could be an eagle, while others were envious and said they wished they had been in the right place at the right time.

Ayling said: "At first I thought it was a buzzard, but then I saw the wing span and I thought, no, this is something else.

"I only really saw it when I noticed crows were trying to attack it, and then the eagle began circling and I realised what it was."

She said white-tailed eagles were tracked and she had been told this was a female juvenile which hatched in West Sussex last year. She was told it had travelled through Northamptonshire and was heading for Norfolk when it passed over Peterborough.

A spokesperson for Nene Park Trust, which runs the Peterborough park, said they were not aware of other sightings of these eagles in the area.

However, they said as the eagle had not landed, it was unlikely it would be staying to nest, and agreed it was probably flying to another destination.

Carter, from the BTO, added: "Occasionally, birds from the continent do show up in the UK, adding to the numbers of released birds (and their offspring).

"With a further six eagles released in Exmoor in 2026, it is likely that we will continue to see these impressive raptors soaring in our skies across the UK in the coming years."

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