Once-extinct eagles released into wild in Munster

An eagle after its release on the Shannon Estuary yesterday. Picture: Cathal Mullane

Six white-tailed eagles have been released into the wild in Munster.

Four white-tailed eagles were released on the Shannon Estuary in the North Kerry/West Limerick area while two more were released at Lough Derg in Co Tipperary yesterday.

The first flight of a white-tailed eagle in Lough Derg. Picture: Micheal Buckley 

The white-tailed eagle, which is the largest bird of prey here, was once extinct in Ireland. 

Ten eagles brought into Ireland in June from Norway have now been released into the wild by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Earlier this month, four eagles were released at Lough Derg as part of a project to increase the existing breeding population of the white-tailed eagles in Ireland.

An eagle flies over the Shannon Estuary. Picture: Cathal Mullane

At the time, Minister Malcolm Noonan described the project as "a remarkable example of hands on conservation in action."

"Once driven to extinction through human persecution, I am delighted to see these, majestic birds returning to our skylines and becoming an established part of the Irish landscape after an absence of some 100 years," he said.