A SPECIES of eagle not seen in England for 240 years has been spotted in the Taunton area.

Last month, the white tailed eagle, which has a wing span of 2.5 metres, flew over the M5 approaching Taunton at an altitude of 559 metres, skirting around the east of the town before heading off.

It then passed low over Avalon Marshes and across the west side of Westhay Moor, on the Somerset Levels, a potential future breeding ground.

The type of eagle was last seen in England in 1780, although some of the birds were spotted in Scotland in 1916.

The sighting comes after a group of the eagles was released on the Isle of Wight last August, with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England tracking four of the juvenile birds via GPS.

While two have settled on the island and the North Yorkshire Moors, the foundation's Tim Mackrill has reported how a male bird (G274) has flown 100 miles along the south coast from the Isle of Wight.

He said: "He roosted in woodland near the Exe Estuary, and at first light the next morning he flew back along the coast to Sidmouth and spent an hour perched in trees at Sidmouth Golf Course, perhaps looking for rabbits, which we know constitutes a key part of the diet of the young eagles.

"(He then flew) north over Honiton at an altitude of 320 metres...then pausing for 50 minutes beside some small lakes near Rawridge.

"He crossed into Somerset and 40 minutes later was over the M5 approaching Taunton at an altitude of 559 metres.

"He skirted around the east side of the town and continued on a north-easterly track, passing low over Avalon Marshes and then across the west side of Westhay Moor in the Somerset Levels – undoubtedly a potential future breeding area for white-tailed eagles."

He then returned to the Isle of Wight via Cheddar, Wiltshire and Hampshire.