A SEA eagle who has spent the last couple of months in exploring Scotland has returned to her Isle of Wight home.

Eagle G324 has flown the furthest of all the birds released on the Island in 2019.

At the beginning of June the young female, flew first to Northumberland and then to the southern shore of the Firth of Forth near North Berwich, some 370 miles north of the Isle of Wight.

She subsequently spent two months in and around the Lammermuir Hills in East Lothian, favouring the lower slopes of the hills where rabbits are numerous.

Experts at the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, which released the birds and tracks their progress, wondered how long she would remain in southern Scotland and even whether she might continue further north and encounter other white-tailed eagles from the Scottish population.

However, she has now made her way back to the release site on the Island, via Barnard Castle and North Yorkshire.

A spokesperson for the foundation said: "It is going to be fascinating to see how G324 behaves over the coming days now she is back on the Isle of Wight.

"Will she go back to her favourite haunts from last winter, or remain close to the release site with G274 and the new 2020 juveniles? Whatever the case, the fact she has returned shows that she regards the Island as home."

Young male G274 appears happy living with the juveniles at the release site. He is there on an almost daily basis and has been seen catching cuttlefish in the Solent and black-headed gulls at a nearby estuary.

Young male G393 spent much of the spring and summer in the North York Moors, before flying to Norfolk on August 1, where he has remained since.

Female G318 arrived in the North York Moors on April 5 and remains in Yorkshire — currently the most northerly of the birds.

As well as the four 2019 eagles, there are seven juveniles, recently released.