Eagles earn their wings but threats remain
Separately, two white-tailed sea eagle chicks also fledged recently and flew from their nest near Mountshannon, Co Clare, but both eagle projects remain vulnerable and their success still hangs in the balance, according to the Golden Eagle Trust.
For instance, up to 50% of the 61 golden eagles released into the wilds of Donegal have been either poisoned or persecuted, such as being shot at.
Of the 100 white-tailed eagles set free in Killarney National Park over the past five years, 27 have died, including 12 from poisoning.
According to a new report from the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, which is funding the projects, 33 poisonings or persecutions of birds of prey were recorded in 2011.
Some of the deaths were accidental, but many were deliberate, the report said.
The recently-introduced red kite was the most frequent casualty, with seven of the 10 kites that died being poisoned by eating rats which had themselves been poisoned.
Also deliberately targeted were peregrine falcons, buzzards, sparrow hawks, and kestrels. No eagle poisonings were reported in 2011, and records for 2012 are being analysed. There were no confirmed poisonings or shootings of hen harriers in 2011, but there were multiple poisonings of herons, rooks, gills, and pigeons.
It is illegal to poison any animal or bird, with the exception of rats, mice, and rabbits, though poison is still widely used to kill crows, for example.
Arts and Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan said the report gives at least a partial view of the scale of the problem.
“It is simply not acceptable for these majestic birds of prey and other wildlife to be persecuted, or poisoned,’’ he said.
“First, it is illegal, but it also harms our reputation as a clean, green country.’’
Mr Deenihan said alternatives to poison are available and could be used successfully when controls of certain wildlife are essential.
Lorcan O’Toole of the Golden Eagle Project said poisoning still threatens to doom the project.
“Despite the proven support of the Donegal farming community for golden eagles, a small number of individuals continue to use poison on this island. Poisoning is still the primary threat to our vulnerable eagle population,” he said.
The latest chicks, which belong to different sets of parents, bring to 10 the number of eagles which have been successfully bred in the wild.
