Three sea eagles have been spotted soaring over the Holkham Estate this month - sparking speculation that these huge aerial predators could naturally recolonise north Norfolk.

The white-tailed eagle, also known as the sea eagle, is the UK's largest native bird of prey, with a wingspan of 8ft (2.4m).

It was hunted to extinction in Britain in the early 20th century - but the number of sightings in north Norfolk has grown in recent years following a successful reintroduction project in the Isle of Wight.

In the last two weeks at Holkham, near Wells, two females from the Isle of Wight colony were identified using satellite tags, along with a third wild bird believed to be from continental Europe.

Jake Fiennes, head of conservation at the 25,000-acre estate, said the sightings generated "intrigue" among the birdwatching community - and increased the likelihood that the enormous birds of prey could choose to nest and breed here naturally in the coming years.

And that could potentially end the debate over man-made reintroduction plans which have provoked concerns from farmers about the impact on livestock and protected wildlife. 

Eastern Daily Press: Jake Fiennes, head of conservation at the Holkham EstateJake Fiennes, head of conservation at the Holkham Estate (Image: Newsquest)

"Looking at the behaviour of the birds and the frequency of birds visiting the site, it seems likely that at some point in the future there might be a nesting attempt," said Mr Fiennes.

"If that happens, I would put it in the same category as the return of spoonbills to Holkham and the first breeding cattle egrets in Norfolk three years ago.

"The evolution and the migration of the natural world is always something to celebrate, and we are intrigued that a new species could choose to adopt the north Norfolk coast as a potential breeding site.

"What is particularly intriguing is that numerous birds from the Isle of Wight release project have chosen north Norfolk, and specifically Holkham, as a regular site to visit.

"The specific habit we have here at Holkham is undoubtedly favourable for sea eagles - we have the freshwater marshes adjacent to the coastline, with over 1,000ha of forestry in and around the nature reserve.

"They [sea eagles] nest in trees and woodland, and with the availability of food, whether it be a grey mullet or geese, it provides all the attributes they would require."

Plans to reintroduce sea eagles to East Anglia in recent years have prompted warnings from farmers that these large aerial predators could feed on free-range lambs, piglets and poultry, as well as other protected wildlife and game birds.

Mr Fiennes said he had seen no evidence of this at Holkham.

"To date, with the eagles that have visited the reserve over the last few years, we have seen no predation on livestock," he said.

"We have seen one attempt of a bird trying to take a barnacle goose on Holkham lake last year, and we have seen birds feeding off carrion.

"The vast majority of the time the birds are perched in woodland and we don't see regular active hunting. But we have livestock in and around the nature reserve and, to date, we have seen no predation of livestock.

"I am not saying it won't happen, but we have not seen it. If we have such a wide variety and abundance of food sources for sea eagles, they will probably prefer to predate other natural species other than farm livestock."

Norfolk's most recent sea eagle reintroduction plan at the Wild Ken Hill estate near Snettisham was shelved in 2021 as the estate "reluctantly" chose to "focus on other aspects of our nationally significant nature and regenerative farming project".

At the time, the estate said it still believed that "the restoration of white-tailed eagles to eastern England is an important and inevitable conservation goal".

After this month's sightings, a spokesman for Wild Ken Hill said: "We would be delighted if these birds naturally recolonised Norfolk."