Several pairs of the enormous bird of prey have been spotted around the Province
As reported by RTV Noord, no fewer than eleven of the largest birds of prey in Europe are located in the Province of Groningen: the white tailed eagle is the Eurasian equivalent of the Bald Eagle found in the Americas, and can have a wingspan of up to 244 cm.
Seven of the birds have been seen flying around in the Lauwersmeer area, two are active in De Onlanden (near the city of Groningen) and a pair is also active in the Onnerpolder near Haren.
‘We have acquired a second adult couple here in the Lauwersmeer area’, says forest ranger Jaap Kloosterhuis of Staatsbosbeheer.
“The permanent couple has been quite upset by the newcomers. The two couples are messing around with each other a lot, which means that no breeding attempt will probably be made this year”, says Kloosterhuis.
In addition to the two adult pairs, there are also three young white-tailed eagles, says Kloosterhuis. “One of them hatched here, and another comes from the west of the Netherlands. We know that because they have been tracked via a transmitter, but the third has no transmitter; we don’t know where it comes from.”
According to Kloosterhuis, there is enough food for seven sea eagles around the Lauwersmeer area. “Nevertheless, there is a good chance that the three young birds will later migrate to other regions,” he says. “Regardless, there are more and more sea eagles, so they will have to get used to sharing habitats. It would be nice if we have two nests and two breeding pairs here next year.”
Image via Flickr user Francesco Veronesi via Wikimedia. License here.
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