A Hungarian couple came across two rare white-tailed eagles, at risk of drowning, while taking part in a challenge to raise awareness of Danube river pollution. The birds were clasped together, likely after a fight.

Klaudia Kis and Richard Varga took it upon themselves to rescue the pair before continuing on their journey, travelling from the Black Sea near Romania to the Black Forest in Germany.

It's a journey that will take them three months, which is also how long they knew each other for before embarking on this project.

The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is a very large species of sea eagle widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which includes other diurnal raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers. One of up to eleven members in the genus Haliaeetus, which are commonly called sea eagles, it is also referred to as the white-tailed sea-eagle. Sometimes, it is known as the ern or erne (depending on spelling by sources), gray sea eagle and Eurasian sea eagle.

White-tailed eagles spend much of their day perched on trees or crags, and may often not move for hours. Perhaps up to 90% of a day may be spent perched, especially if weather is poor. Also, they will alternate periods of soaring with perching, especially flying over water or well-watered areas, but do considerably less soaring on average than do golden eagles. Pairs regularly roost together, often near to their nest, either on a crag or tree or crevices, overhung ledges or small isolated trees on a crag

White-tailed eagles eat a variety of prey. As their other common name, sea eagle, suggests, they take fish, but also birds, mammals and carrion. They are opportunistic hunters and often steal food from other birds. Their method of fishing is very different to that of the osprey; flying low over the water before briefly hovering and snatching the fish, whereas ospreys will hover from a great height and then drop quickly down to the water. White-tailed eagles will also sometimes plunge right into the water.

White-tailed eagles are classified by the IUCN as ‘Least Concern’. The species suffered huge declines in Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries and was driven to extinction in the UK, mainly through persecution. It has since been reintroduced to the west coast of Scotland and more recently to the east coast, and a reintroduction programme is currently underway in Ireland.

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Britain’s largest bird of prey has returned to the English skies for the first time in 240 years.

White-tailed eagles, which have a wing span up to 2.5 metres, were once a common sight across southern England until the 18th century when they were wiped out by illegal killing. They were last recorded in England in 1780 at Culver Cliff on the Isle of Wight, before becoming extinct in the whole of the UK in 1918 when the final bird was shot on the Scottish Shetland Islands.

European populations of the sea eagle also suffered from heavy persecution, which led to significant declines and extinction in several countries, according to Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

But thanks to Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation this lost species is making a comeback. Last summer, six young white-tailed eagles were released on the Isle of Wight as part of a five-year project to restore the species to southern England. The birds were collected from the wild in Scotland, where the species was reintroduced in the 1970s under a similar scheme, before they were brought to the island.

They have been fitted with GPS trackers and the team behind the programme have been tracking four of the young birds as they make their first trips. The satellite data has given the team fascinating insights into the behaviour of the birds, who were largely sedentary over winter but have begun to explore further afield, including Norfolk, Kent and Somerset, now spring has arrived.

Two of the eagles, G393, a male, and G318, a female, flew as far the North York Moors. The pair stayed in the national park for days, but also took a trip out to the coast where they spent four hours exploring a 12-mile stretch between Whitby and Saltburn-by-Sea.


Another male bird, G274, completed a 325-mile tour of southeast England for three day, and appears to have bonded with G324, a female, on the Isle of Wight over the winter months. G324 has generally been the most sedentary of the four birds since release but was spotted soaring with paragliders over the west Wight along with G274.

White-tailed eagles do not breed until they are about four or five years old, however it is hoped G274 and G324 might form a breeding pair if they survive until then. Satellite data has given the team fascinating insights into the birds’ behaviour, showing they choose days with the best conditions to make their big moves, preferring a tailwind and clear skies.


The birds are known as “sit-and-wait" foragers, who prefer to wait and watch their prey rather than fly great distances for food, which saves valuable energy. Roy Dennis, founder of The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation said: “I have spent much of my life working on the reintroduction of these amazing birds and so watching them take to the skies of the Isle of Wight has been a truly special moment.

“Establishing a population of white-tailed eagles in the south of England will link and support emerging populations of these birds in the Netherlands, France and Ireland, with the aim of restoring the species to the southern half of Europe.”

Bruce Rothnie, from Forestry England, added: “We are immensely proud that the woodlands we manage on the Isle of Wight and surrounding South Coast are now home to these incredibly rare birds as they return to England’s coastline.”
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A cone Trans Mountain installed in a nesting tree to prevent eagles from nesting at their work site, near the Westridge Marine Terminal

A local environmental organization is concerned about Trans Mountain’s approach to dealing with wildlife after the company blocked access to an eagle nesting perch on its Westridge Marine Terminal property by installing a silver cone over it.

Eagles — an iconic species in Canada — have used the nest for more than a decade, said John Preissl, a Burnaby resident and local streamkeeper who has been monitoring the eagles in the area for 25 years.

“It’s actually kind of sickening for me to see this,” he said of the cone.

Peter McCartney, a climate campaigner with the Wilderness Committee, alleged the cone is “just characteristic of this company’s wanton disregard for wildlife,” he told StarMetro in an interview. “We saw it with the salmon mats in the northern interior — Kinder Morgan’s mitigation strategy is ‘no wildlife, no problem.’”

The National Energy Board warned the company last fall after it installed orange, plastic nets along a stream bed to discourage fish spawning, without the federal regulator’s approval.


This time though, Trans Mountain said it had approval from the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to install the metal cone in the nesting tree on its marine terminal property in preparation for tree clearing and construction work. The tree in question won’t be removed as part of the clearing work.

The company said it worked with the ministry and a local raptor specialist to develop an eagle nest mitigation plan, which was designed to mitigate the impact of construction on potential nesting eagles.

“The nest site was not in use and nesting material was almost entirely on the ground before the deterrent was installed in the tree,” the statement said.


The company added that an artificial nest site was installed away from the work area to “offset the temporary loss of use of the tree.”

Preissl, however, is concerned about how the eagles might be fairing. “Most likely the eagles will try to come here every year, it’s ingrained in their DNA to come back,” he said. “They may very well be OK, but we don’t know.”

The cone is just part of the issue, he added, noting eagles have lost prime nesting habitat on the other side of Burnaby Mountain from Trans Mountain’s clearing work there as well.


“The eagles are actually in distress,” Preissl said. “They use these areas as perch trees. It’s literally ingrained in their DNA to go back to the same spots.”

McCartney said there are more than 50 species at risk living along the pipeline route, and that removing their habitat “would be catastrophic for them.”

“If this is their M.O. when it comes to dealing with British Columbia’s wildlife, can we really trust them to be protecting it?” he said.


Concerns about wildlife are just some of the issues First Nations, environmental groups and municipalities have raised about the $7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, which would double the existing 1,100 km pipeline and nearly triple the flow of diluted bitumen to B.C.’s coast. The project is also expected to increase tanker traffic sevenfold.


But its future is uncertain after Kinder Morgan announced it was suspending non-essential spending due to “extraordinary political risks.” The company’s announcement further fuelled a battle between the Alberta and federal governments, which support the project, and B.C. which is opposed.
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The RCMP has officially introduced eagle feathers into the Nova Scotia justice system.

On Monday the force announced the feather is being added alongside affirmations and the Bible as an object to swear upon while giving a testimony under oath.

“To wear or to hold an eagle feather causes our creator to take immediate notice,” explained Donald Julien, a member of the Mi’kmaq community and former veteran for the Canadian Armed Forces and United Nations. He emphasised the important symbolism of the eagle feather to First Nations people. “[This is a] wonderful show of understanding and the acknowledgement of our traditional ways of expressing our prayer,” he said.

Nova Scotia’s aboriginal policing analyst, RCMP Cpl. De-Anne Sack, was responsible for the idea and helped process the official introduction into the justice system.

“To many First Nations people, when you give them a Bible, it doesn’t mean anything”, Sack said via in an RCMP statement. “But if you give them an eagle feather, it carries more significance, power and clout.”

The feather can also be used for all citizens, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, for comfort as well.


“It has an energy of it’s own,” said Clifford Paul while explaining the symbolism and significance of the eagle feather. “The eagle is the messenger [to the Creator] in our world…It’s always an honour when an eagle shows itself...If you were to receive an eagle feather, it is a higher honour than receiving the Noble Peace Prize or a gold medal at the Olympics.”

Each of the feathers is cleansed -or ‘smudged’-by smoke from one of the four-main natural medicines used by First Nations communities before it is given to law enforcement. Feathers are individually placed in a red case, along with an official letter and standard judicial procedures. They will be smudged once a year.


Jane Abram from the Millbrook First Nation smudged the first of 13 feathers that will be given to provincial courts in communities around Nova Scotia. The RCMP said the remainder will be introduced in early 2018.


“I think it’s a ground-breaking moment, really. I’m so happy and pleased and honoured because it says so much especially to First Nations people and to me personally,” Abram said.


She also hopes Nova Scotia will serve as an example to other provinces to introduce the feather into their justice system. She stressed it is an important step towards reconciliation.

“I feel that it’s going to take hold and hopefully other [provinces] will do the same,” she said. “I hope that we can continue to work towards truth and reconciliation for both parties, for the non-Indigenous as well as the Indigenous people. To work together and have a stronger relationship in doing so.”

The RCMP said this initiative is a first in Canada for the force. .
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This set of hilarious photographs capture the moment a black drongo circles short-toed snake eagle and then lands on its head.

Judging by the pictures, it is quite clear the bird of prey is not too pleased with its unwanted guest crashing down onto it over and over again.

The encounter was spotted by Greaves Henriksen in Tamilnadu, India. The 52-year-old amateur photographer believes the eagle was sitting close to a nest, which the bird was trying to defend.

Greaves, a manager at a tea gardens, said: 'I just couldn't stop taking photos of this truly rare sight.

'The short-toed snake eagle was perched on a branch near the nest and the black drongo was trying to chase him away.'

Black drongos are usually solitary and form monogamous breeding pairs. They are aggressive and fearless, regularly mobbing or attacking much larger species, including birds of prey, if their nest or young are threatened or their territory is compromised.


They also join mixed foraging bird parties, and will initiate mobbing of common enemies. To maintain their plumage condition they may rain-bathe, foliage-bathe or plunge-dive into water. Terrestrial foragers like babblers may use the drongo as a sentry.
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Wedge-tailed eagles do battle with mining giant's drones, knocking nine out of sky. Eagles and drones have been battling for the skies above Western Australia.

Currently it’s the birds of prey that are winning after taking out nine of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

The Trimble UX5 drones belong to mining company Gold Fields, which has been using them to survey St Ives since 2014.

The wedge-tailed eagle has a two metre wingspan and is a protected species.

Ten UAVs have been lost since South Africa's Gold Fields, the world's seventh-biggest gold producer, began operating the Trimble UX5 systems at its St Ives operations near Kambalda.


One crashed as a result of human error, while nine have been taken down by wedge-tailed eagles, which are known to have wingspans more than twice that of the 1-metre-wide UAVs.

The UAVs are constructed from foam and carbon fibre, and fly at an altitude of about 125 metres, reaching speeds of up to 92km/h.


Photo: This photo was taken by an eagle that had hold of a UAV as another eagle was coming in to attack. Credit: Rick Steven
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