Isle of Wight conservationists are celebrating a "significant milestone" after two white-tailed eagles released on the Island had chicks — only the second time in over 240 years the birds have bred in the wild in the England.

Forestry England, which runs the reintroduction project alongside the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, said the two males have also successfully fledged from their nest.

They are the offspring of female G405 and male G471 — which also raised a single male chick (G625) last year — the first white-tailed eagle to be born in southern England since 1780.

The two chicks – G636 and G637 - are fitted with satellite tags so that the project team can track their progress.

Read more: Isle of Wight white-tailed eagle project celebrates chick

Roy Dennis OBE, founder of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, said: “Restoring a breeding population in southern England, where the species was once widespread, has been our ultimate goal.

"So, to see this second year of breeding success is really encouraging. It is still early days, but this is a very significant milestone.

“We are always so heartened to see the support of so many people towards these magnificent birds and the positive reactions those lucky enough to have seen one have.

"This success demonstrates our ability to restore nature, including very large iconic species; nature recovery requires even greater effort from us all.”

(Image: Forestry England/Crown)

Steve Egerton-Read, white-tailed eagle project officer for Forestry England, said: “We have spent the last few months closely watching this pair of eagles, hoping that they would successfully breed again this year.

"Things looked promising throughout the spring, but you never know if they will ultimately be successful.

"When we first saw two chicks appear in the nest it was tremendously exciting! For both to make it to fledging demonstrates the abundance of food in this landscape and the suitability of southern England for these birds."

Although their parents were released on the Island in 2020, the chicks were born elsewhere in England.

Over the last year satellite data has been used to follow last year’s chick (G625) as he has explored widely across the UK travelling as far as the north of Scotland. 

White-tailed eagles typically reach breeding maturity at around four or five years old.

From the 37 birds released by the project, four pairs have now formed and established territories in southern England. It is hoped that these other pairs will breed in future years. 

Currently, 22 of the birds have survived.

Eight birds were released this summer from the team’s base on the Isle of Wight.