A golden moment for Ireland as eagle chick takes to the skies

WATCHING offspring leave the nest is always hard but one group of guardians were thrilled to see their youngster spread her wings.

The first golden eagle chick in Ireland for a century finally took to the skies over Donegal in recent days after a tense two and a half months during which her twin died and she and her parents endured some of the wettest and worst hunting weather ever to blight an Irish summer.

With a wingspan close to seven feet and a beak made for tearing flesh as if it was tissue paper, she is hardly the most vulnerable creature in the air but Lorcan O’Toole, project manager with the Golden Eagle Trust, said she still had a bit of growing to do.

“She’s flying strongly but she has to build up her flight muscles as she isn’t soaring yet. We should see her soaring in about four or five weeks,” he explained.

“She also has her juvenile feathers which have a lot of pale patches and it will four or five years before she has her full adult plumage,” he added.

A total of 46 golden eagles have been brought from wild stocks in Scotland to Glenveagh National Park in north west Donegal since the reintroduction project began in 2000 but while pairs have nested before, this is the first time a chick has successfully fledged.

The breakthrough was welcomed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service which said that for the first time in 100 years, a native-born predator existed that could hunt foxes, badgers and other large birds. The Donegal branch of the Irish Farmers Association which was involved with the project from the outset also expressed delight.

“It is nice to be associated with a successful project like this,” said branch chairman William Monagle.

By contrast, the Golden Eagle Trust has run into opposition with farmers in Kerry over the reintroduction of the white-tailed sea eagle in Killarney National Park amid fears the birds will damage lamb stocks.

Lorcan O’Toole said initial examinations of the Glenveagh nest had so far yielded the remains of hares, fox cubs and badger cubs but not lambs. He said a fuller examination would take place of the land surrounding the nest in the autumn and the results would be made public.

“I can understand the farmers in Kerry being concerned but I’d hope the experience of farmers in Donegal would help change their minds. We’ll keep working with them to try to reassure them,” he said.

The Glenveagh chick will be fed by her parents for a few months until she learns to hunt for herself.

* www.goldeneagle.ie