21 eagle chicks were released into the wild in recent days as part of an Irish-Norwegian reintroduction programme.
The chicks were released at 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.
Iconic bird back to Irish skies
The eagles came to Ireland from Norway on June 25, this year, and were in the care of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
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 monitored and tagged by NPWS staff leading the collaborative reintroduction programme – Irish White-tailed Sea Eagle 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 project to reintroduce this iconic bird back to Irish skies.
‘Driven to extinction’
According to the NPWS, the bird was once a “conspicuous part of Ireland’s landscape”, but was “driven to extinction by human persecution here in the late 19th century”.
The first phase of the reintroduction programme ran from 2007 to 2011, managed by the NPWS and the Golden Eagle Trust.
The NPWS said that 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 phase was launched last year, when 10 Norwegian-born chicks were flown into Ireland and released into the wild on the Shannon Estuary and Lough Derg.
Of these 10, nine are still alive, and have travelled throughout the country, with one travelling to Scotland.
Eagles play ‘key role’ in ecosystems
The NPWS has said that without the “enthusiastic support in monitoring nest sites and care of birds” by local landowners and farmers, the project “could not succeed”.
“Farmers are once again being asked to help in any way they can, with small measures such as the removal [or burial] of animals/pests killed by lead shot and also the safe use of rodenticide.”
Minister for heritage and electoral reform Malcolm Noonan said that the eagles are “magnificent birds and, as top predators, they play a key role in the functioning of ecosystems”.