On 29th January 2005 I had cycled up to the Triangle and spent some time chat with Ken and Mel before working my way home. This was before the time of universal mobile phones and Ken didn't have my phone number. A little later I heard that they had seen an immature White-tailed Eagle land on Harland Edge where it spent some time there before drifting off towards Chatsworth. I drove back up to the moor but there were no further sightings after I returned.
This morning, also having cycled up, I was stood with Ken on the Bar Road when Mick Taylor rang to say a White-tailed Eagle had just left Ogston at about 09:10 heading North West. I knew Robin Elliot was also on the moors so quickly sent him a text message to alert him. Ken and I decided to move to the Triangle which give slightly better all round views.
At 9:30 Robin rang back to say that he could see the bird distantly from Whitesprings, a sub-adult, still travelling NW and looking like it was over the Sitches Plantation area. Ken and I scanned the area frantically but couldn't pick the bird up.
At around 11:00 a White-tailed Eagle past over Blackmoor Foot Reservoir just SW of Huddersfield which I presume was the same bird.
The fact that it was a sub-adult bird means it isn't one of the released birds for the Isle of Wight reintroduction programme and I understand that Roy Dennis has confirmed this. So it was presumably a wandering wild bird from the Scottish population.
Hopefully I'll see the next one!
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