JOHN Olley, Conservation Officer at Durham Bird Club, gives a personal insight into the discovery of County Durham's celebrity white-tailed eagle. 

"I DISCOVERED the bird at just after 11am on March 24, I had just watched the great grey shrike with a few other Durham bird club members this was attracting quite a few people.

"I was looking to pop over to Derwent reservoir to see if any ospreys were around but if heard nothing so decided to check the Eastgate quarry from a regular vantage point on the Bollihope road.

"I was watching a pair of buzzards displaying in the distance and a brief view of a peregrine then started mobbing something very large lo and behold it was a white-tailed eagle drifting low across the moor.

The Northern Echo:

"Unfortunately, it was rather distant and disappeared into the quarry area out of site. I immediately called our county recorder as another white-tailed eagle had been seen around two weeks earlier strangely enough at Derwent reservoir. This was the first ever modern day white-tailed eagle in Durham.

"I did not get back up to the area until the Saturday, March 28, with other DBC colleagues. There were others also looking in the area when we picked the bird up again flying directly above us dropping and feeding on rabbit carrion.

"By this time the word was out and eventually good photographs were had and I had contacted the Scottish white-tailed eagle project to tell them that we had a first year juvenile with a black ring on the left leg and silver on the right leg.

"To our amazement we know now it was Sona - she was quite a celebrity already.

"The reaction from the local birding fraternity has been one of awe and jubilation as this was now the only second white-tailed eagle in Durham and one that people could have the chance to see. Even today there were well over 50 bird watchers scanning the Weardale hills as many had not seen her.

"With her spending the early part of the year in Dumfries and Galloway the Pennines are a natural draw for wintering raptors especially as there are large areas of white grassy moor with lots of rabbits.

"She has been feeding on carrion and dead rabbit which are fairly easy to find along the roads across the area.

"As far I know she was still around today but likely to move on soon back to probably natal Mull already the bird seen in Norfolk looks like it's moving north ad it was seen on the Scarborough Coast yesterday.

"I have worked with and been monitoring, researching and protecting birds of prey for the last 30 years and this will go down as one of my greatest moments in birdwatching - the Pennine hills the area has lost many if it's special raptor species.

"Hopefully, this will be a regular occurrence in England maybe they will breed again in this country. They are a magnificent bird and I hope Sona can breed one day herself and then maybe she will return?"