Govind Tekale
Golden eagles are flying over Northern England again for the first time in more than 150 years. These huge birds – the second-largest birds of prey in the UK after the white-tailed sea eagle – are crossing the border from Scotland, giving bird watchers plenty to get excited about.
In March 2025, Ian Glendinning was driving through Northumberland National Park when his passenger spotted something unusual. About 30 meters away sat a massive bird on a rocky ledge. It was Talla, a young male golden eagle. The bird flew off before Glendinning could take a photo, but there was no mistaking its size.
“I would defy anyone not to be impressed seeing such a huge bird at close range,” said Glendinning, who has since seen golden eagles three more times in the area.
Talla is one of about 50 golden eagles now living in the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. Back in 2018, there were barely any eagles left in southern Scotland. That’s when the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP) stepped in to help.
The project has moved 43 eagles from the Scottish Highlands to southern Scotland since 2018. This includes 28 baby eagles taken when they were just six to eight weeks old and 15 older birds between four months and three years of age.
Each eagle wears a small satellite tag, like a tiny backpack. These tags let scientists track where the birds go.
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“Thanks to our satellite tagging, we can confirm that some are beginning to venture into Northumberland and further afield,” said Michael Clarke, who leads the SSGEP. The tags show the eagles visiting not just Northumberland but also the North Pennines and Lake District. Some have flown as far as Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Golden eagles disappeared from England and Wales in the mid-1800s. People killed them because they thought the birds would attack farm animals or game birds like grouse. After both World Wars, when hunting temporarily stopped, some eagles returned. But by 2015, the last permanent resident eagle in England had vanished from the Lake District.
Dr. Cat Barlow, who runs the charity Restoring Upland Nature that oversees the eagle project, explained why young eagles explore new areas: “In the first few years of life, the birds will go looking for new territory, looking for a mate, looking for new feeding grounds.”
These eagles need large, quiet areas to live. They hunt rabbits, birds, and sometimes even fish. They also eat dead animals they find, which helps clean up the environment.
Mike Pratt from Northumberland Wildlife Trust said the eagles’ movement makes perfect sense: “They don’t see a border and the landscape either side of the borders of England and Scotland is so similar.”
While no one knows yet if the eagles will stay and nest in England, their return shows how nature can bounce back when given the chance. For Glendinning, seeing these massive birds feels right: “They just fit in perfectly with the landscape… It just feels like they belong here.”
Golden eagles were recorded in Northumberland in June 2021 and July 2023