A rare white-tailed eagle, Britain’s largest bird of prey, has been spotted in the island.

The eagle was roosting in the central hills from the end of November. But its appearance in the island was kept secret until its departure last Sunday.

Information from a satellite tag shows that it left over Glen Auldyn, Ramsey and the northern plain and has now arrived in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

White-tailed eagles, or sea eagles, have been dubbed as ’flying barn doors’ as the adults have an 8ft wingspan.

They were never common in the Isle of Man and the last breeding pair is thought to have succumbed to a storm - or human persecution - in the 19th century.

Neil Morris, of Manx Birdlife, said the bird seen in the island was a youngster, named Aonghus, which was part of a reintroduction programme in Ireland.

’At the end of November when he first arrived, in liaison with the agencies involved, I located its roosting site and initial feeding area. What was important is that we kept the roost site secret so he would always have somewhere to go to roost overnight but we hoped at some stage to be able announce where he could safely be seen feeding.’

The difficulty was that Aonghus was travelling quite extensively over the central hills to feed, and the weather until recently has not been conducive to eagle spotting.

By the time a number of sightings were reported by members of the public over the weekend, he was already preparing to head on his way.

Dr Allan Mee, project manager of the Irish White-tailed Sea Eagle Reintroduction Programme spoke to Neil on Monday afternoon to inform him that the latest satellite tracking data received that afternoon showed that Aonghus was now in Dumfries and Galloway.

From there he is expected to head home to Galway.

’With the beautiful calm day and blue skies on Sunday, he took the opportunity to leave the island,’ said Neil.

He said the young adults are scavengers that feed on carrion as they have not yet learned the skills needed to catch fish.

Neil said that the success of reintroduction programmes in Scotland, Ireland and England will boost the chances of these magnificent birds of prey being spotted in the Isle of Man in the future.

’Perhaps this will be the first of many future visits and that white-tailed eagles will become a regular sight in the island,’ he said.