White-tailed Eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla

f5.6 @ 1/4000s, ISO:800, Nikon D300S w 300mm

\"White-tailed Eagle,\" Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. White-tailed eagles, being apex predators, tend to experience bioaccumulation from environmental pollutants present in their prey; they also suffer intensive persecution by shepherds and gamekeepers who consider them a threat to their livestock and gamebirds. During the period 1800-1970, white-tailed eagles in most of Europe underwent dramatic declines and became extinct in many regions of western, central and southern Europe. A sea eagle from Bridgwater Bay was shot in the winter of 1857 at Stolford in Bridgwater Bay and subsequently preserved for display. It may be seen at the Somerset Heritage Centre. It was presented to the county museum by Miss Bailey, the executrix of the owner\'s will, in 1881. Norway, Germany, Poland and Iceland harbored the largest surviving populations, pockets of reproducing pairs remained in several other countries. Intense conservation actions throughout much of the remaining European distribution range (legal protection to decrease hunting, protection of breeding sites, and winter feeding) led to recovery of many local populations. Since the 1980s, the European white-tailed eagle population has recovered steadily and is spreading back westward. It has today recolonized several traditional breeding areas in Europe. This ongoing recovery is assisted in Scotland and Ireland by reintroduction schemes.

Flatanger, Norway

11/01/2011