The successful end of the State’s White-Tailed Eagle Reintroduction Programme has been marked with the release of four white-tailed eagle chicks back into the wild at Killarney National Park.
The chicks are among the final cohort of this phase of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) project, which was originally established in 2007 and which, to date, has overseen the release of some 245 chicks into the wild.
The programme is ending following a number of releases around the country this month.
Once native to Ireland, the white-tailed eagle became extinct in the nineteenth century. Since 2007, the NPWS has been working with partners in Norway along with farmers and communities around the country to reintroduce the white-tailed eagle and establish a population in Ireland.
The white-tailed eagle is a bird of prey, and plays an important part in protecting biodiversity.
(Above and below) The Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, today marked the successful end of the White-Tailed Eagle Reintroduction Programme with the release of four white-tailed eagle chicks back into the wild at Killarney National Park. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan
Speaking in Killarney, Minister of State Christopher O’Sullivan said the programme has “seen this mighty bird soar again in Irish skies and its success is a tribute to the NPWS and their colleagues in the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research”.
“Over 18 years of work and collaboration has led to a growing white-tailed eagle population and also has seen habitat restoration and engagement with landowners and farmers to secure the eagles ongoing protection,” he said.
“It is one of a number of key NPWS initiatives underway to restore our biodiversity. This is the second phase of this reintroduction project, and we now have evidence of white-tailed eagles breeding in counties further afield - from the south of the island in Cork right up to Donegal,” he added.
All of the chicks are fitted with satellite tags so that their movements can be tracked as they disperse and establish in new areas. The chicks are vulnerable to external factors such as adverse weather conditions, avian influenza, disease, and illegal poisonings.
Aslak Brun, Norway’s Ambassador to Ireland, said that “we have the obligation to protect nature and halt the loss of biodiversity. It is my hope that the unique cooperation to reintroduce eagles will serve as an inspiration for other wildlife projects.”
