Natural England, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Anglian Water are studying a plan to introduce the birds to the coast of northern Norfolk, The Telegraph reported. A final decision is likely by spring and the reintroduction could begin next summer.

The bird was reintroduced in Scotland in the 1970s. But experts say the eagles would take a century to spread south if left to their own devices.

While the groups say a poll in Norfolk found that more than 90 percent of those surveyed want sea eagles back, some farmers say the birds would kill lambs. The RSPB said some lambs appear to have fallen victim to eagles but argues that in most cases the birds are scavenging lambs dead from other causes.

Sea eagles were last known to breed in England in the 1830s. The last Scottish bird before the reintroduction was shot in the Shetlands in 1916.