HUNDREDS of birdwatchers have been gathering in a country lane in the New Forest hoping for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to spot a rare white-tailed eagle.

It is thought to be only the second time a member of the species has been seen in Hampshire.

Footage courtesy of Russell Wynn

The only other was one that over-wintered at Cholderton in 2007/8.

What seems to be the first sighting of this bird was at Hayling Island at 1.26pm and again at Titchfield Haven near Fareham at 2pm on December 12.

The juvenile eagle appeared to be heading west and it is quite likely it is the one getting the twitchers so excited in Hordle Lane at Downton now.

Dr Russell Wynn, head of marine geoscience at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, was the first to log the bird on January 1.

On the birdguides.com website he said he was cycling home for some lunch after four hours coastal birdwatching when he saw a “large brown shape in the middle of a grassy field”. It was about 100 metres away.

“I initially struggled to identify it as a bird or mammal, but as I came to an abrupt halt, it took flight and to my amazement I realised I was looking at an eagle,” he said.

“The huge size, broad wings and plumage identified it as a juvenile white-tailed eagle, presumably the same bird that had been seen in West Sussex and south-east Hampshire in mid-December.”

He took some photographs of the bird before it headed north west over trees towards Hordle.

He flagged up the news on the web and two days later received information that it had been seen first on December 30 and was still there. A return visit on January 4 led to his taking still and video images of the bird in what seems to be its favourite perch in a tree.

Since then there have been several sightings, on the coast at nearby Taddiford, but usually in the fields at the southern end of Hordle Lane.

Christchurch wildlife photographer Darren Crain photographed the white-tailed eagle yesterday.

“It is a very rare bird to get down this part of the world. They think it’s probably from Scandinavia and been blown down by the weather. You normally have to go to the top of Scotland to see one.

“It’s got a nine-foot wingspan on it.”

He said he was hoping to go to Mull later this year to photograph one and this had saved him the journey.

Stephen Keen, 42, from Sway, described the “fantastic” eagle as “the sort of creature that even a layman would appreciate, a real flying barn door”.

He had been going to Hordle and Downton since the New Year’s Day in the hope of seeing it. He said it was ironic one should turn up so close to home as he had made six visits to the Andover area when one was seen there in 2007/8.