White-tailed eagle chicks spread their wings further into Clare skies

TWENTY-FOUR white-tailed eagle chicks have been released in locations around Lough Derg, the Shannon Estuary and the west of Ireland last week, as part of an ongoing National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) programme to reintroduce this once extinct species.

White-tailed eagles are predators who play an important role in nature and the ecosystem. They feed on a wide variety of prey, including fish, waterbirds and carrion. They settle on territories around the coast and large freshwater lakes to breed.

Once native to Ireland, they 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 to Ireland. 

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, who participated in the release of chicks at in the vicinity of Lough Derg, said: "This reintroduction programme is the result of a combined effort by my Department’s National Parks and Wildlife Service, participating landowners and communities and endangered species experts. I commend each of them for the role they are playing in protecting these iconic birds of prey.”

Over the past few days we’ve released 24 white-tailed eagle chicks around the country.

We work with our partner in Norway, local landowners and communities on this reintroduction programme.

Watch behind the scenes as this years chicks get ready to take flight! #ProtectNature pic.twitter.com/yAjjxAnK0V

— National Parks and Wildlife Service (@NPWSIreland) August 15, 2023

A total of 171 white-tailed eagles have now been released through the programme to date. A small, established population of eagles is now fledging chicks around the country and has even produced triplets.

A comprehensive satellite tagging system is now in place so that the birds can be monitored as they disperse around the country. 

White-tailed eagle chicks return to Lough Derg

Niall Ó Donnchú, Director General with the NPWS said: "This programme is one of several initiatives underway in the NPWS to protect endangered species in Ireland and prevent their decline. This work takes time, and calls for a partnership approach if it is to be sustainable in the long term. Collaboration with the science community and international partners, along with the involvement of our expert staff and communities around the country has been key to the success we have seen so far.”

Eamonn Meskell, Divisional Manager NPWS, Killarney National Park who heads up the White-tailed eagle reintroduction Programme added: "There is huge interest from the public in the White-tailed eagle programme. Locations where they are spotted attract many visitors and local interest and we love to hear about sightings of the birds around Ireland and further afield. 

"In Lough Derg this year for the second time a nesting pair fledged triplets. This is incredibly unusual – even in the wilds of Norway, and it shows how well suited Ireland really is for the White-tailed eagle from both a habitat and a feeding perspective. We’ll be watching this year’s chicks with interest as they mature and hopefully go on to fledge more chicks."