Twenty-one White-Tailed (Sea) Eagles, which came to Ireland from Norway on June 25th have been reintroduced to Ireland this weekend.
The chicks were released into the wild at the four Munster sites - on the Shannon Estuary, Lough Derg, Waterford and in Killarney National Park. It is hoped they will bolster Ireland’s existing White-Tailed Eagle population.
The satellite tags will allow the project to monitor their progress and their integration into the existing Irish breeding population. Photo: Valerie O’Sullivan
The chicks have been kept in purpose-built enclosures at the four locations while they grew, matured, and developed the feathers and muscles necessary for flight. They were carefully monitored and tagged by NPWS staff leading the collaborative reintroduction programme, which began in 2007. The satellite tags will allow the project to monitor their progress and their integration into the existing Irish breeding population.
Their release is part of the second phase of the highly successful project to reintroduce this magnificent, iconic bird back to Irish skies.
Once a conspicuous part of Ireland’s landscape, they were driven to extinction by human persecution here in the late Nineteenth Century.
The Department with responsibility for Heritage says restoring this lost flagship species to Irish skies will be a significant step in restoring Ireland’s natural heritage and will bring great benefit to Irish biodiversity.
Overseeing the Release in Killarney National Park, from left, Regional Manager National Parks and Wildlife Service, Dr Allan Mee, Advisor, White Tailed Eagle Project Phase 1, Danny O'Keeffe, National Parks and Wildlife Service district conservation officer, Philip Buckley, Project Site Manager, Shannon Esturary.
Photo: Valerie O’Sullivan
Two Phases
The first Phase ran from 2007-2011, managed by the NPWS and the Golden Eagle Trust, when 100 chicks were released into the wild. Since then, over 35 Irish-born chicks have fledged here, some of whom have begun to rear their own chicks. This year one nesting pair on Lough Derg produced three chicks. This is uncommon, even in the very extensive wild populations in Norway.
The project has seen some setbacks alongside its success, and the vulnerability of the population to poisoning, alongside negative impacts due to Avian Influenza in 2018 and Storm Hannah in 2019 prompted the initiation of the Project’s Second Phase.
This Second Phase, managed by NPWS Regional Manager Eamonn Meskell with the advice of Dr. Allan Mee, will secure the substantial gains of the first phase of the Programme and expand the range of the existing population, which has so far nested in sites in Kerry, Cork, Tipperary, Galway, and Clare.
The Second Phase was launched last year, when ten Norwegian-born chicks were flown into Ireland and released into the wild on the Shannon Estuary and Lough Derg. Of these ten, an astonishing nine are still alive, and have travelled throughout the country, with one even travelling to Scotland.
Project site monitor on the reintroduction project of the eagles, Philip Buckley, spoke to Damien Tiernan on Deise Today. Listen back here:
