The flying barn door

OVER the past two years, members of the public in the south of England have reported seeing an enormous bird of prey overhead. Sometimes described as ‘a flying barn door’ on account of its vast rectangular wings, the white-tailed eagle () is once again taking to the skies after being demonised as a lamb killer from the Middle Ages onwards. Its return to England is the result of a reintroduction programme based on the Isle of Wight that hopes to release a total of 60 birds over a period of five years; there are now thought to be 25 white-tailed individuals surviving in the wild. The birds have been seen coasting over