White-tailed eagle chicks in historic first flight

In a phenomenon witnessed for the first time in Ireland in over 110 years, two white-tailed eagle chicks have successfully fledged and flown from their nest.

Unfortunately, the third chick hatched earlier this year has died in a fall from its nest.

The pair of chicks were observed flying close to Lough Derg, Mountshannon, Co Clare where their parents had nested.

Dr Allan Mee, project manager behind the re-introduction of the eagle programme to Ireland, said: “We should savour this day as a really important milestone in the recovery of this iconic species.”

He described the birds in flight as a fabulous moment.

However, the third bird, born in Killarney National Park, died after apparently falling from its nest, it was confirmed yesterday.

All three had been born as part a programme to reintroduce sea eagles which began in 2007 with the release of young Norwegian eagles in Killarney National Park.

Dr Mee, speaking on the Mountshannon spectacle, said: “This day has been six years in the making but, to witness the first flight of a wild Irish-bred white-tailed eagle, was a fabulous moment.

“These two young eagles represent the first of what we hope are many more Irish-bred eagles to fledge from nests over the next few years and themselves form the basis of a viable, self-sustaining Irish population. “The signs are good that we can achieve this with 10 or more pairs likely to breed annually over the next few years. While there is still a lot of hard work to be done to achieve this goal.”

While disappointed at the loss of the Killarney chick, Dr Mee said he was confident its parents would breed successfully next year.

He said the sticks in the nest may have become brittle and collapsed during the recent dry spell, adding it took new nests more time to consolidate.

“The parents were also inexperienced in nest-building but they will be better in the future,” he believed.

“I’m confident they will go all the way next year and that we’ll see eagle chicks flying in Killarney. It’s just a shame that they got so close at their first attempt and failed.”

The chick had been named locally as Paudie after the late Paudie O’Leary, head wildlife ranger in Killarney National Park for decades.

In the coming years, upwards of 10 territorial pairs of sea eagles, monitored and located this spring, between Cork and Galway, are expected to nest, lay eggs and, hopefully, rear young.

Other maturing birds, released in recent years, are also likely to augment the breeding population over time.

It is hoped the Lough Derg chicks will survive and breed themselves in 2017, or soon after.

The white-tailed eagle reintroduction programme is managed by the Golden Eagle Trust with the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Heritage.

Jimmy Deenihan, heritage minister, described the fledging as a great step forward and hoped “these young eagles will have a long life in our skies”.