Eagles almost re-established - Eagles may have a future here

AT a moment when so many species are faced with extinction or spectacular population collapse — the curlew and salmon are, in an Irish context, just two — how cheering it is to be able to record a victory; a small instance where man’s relentless destruction of habitat and wildlife has been rolled back.

The programme to re-establish white-tailed sea eagles in Ireland is beginning to look as if it might succeed and that the bird, absent from this island for just over a century, might again find a place in Irish hearts and skies.

Eight pairs have nested and laid eggs, with five nests producing five young in Cork, Clare, Galway and Kerry. Three other pairs nesting in Kerry failed to produce eaglets. A pair nesting on an island in Lough Derg made history in 2013 when they reared the first chicks to fly from a nest in Ireland in over 100 years. That pair also reared the only chick to successfully fly in 2014. This suggests we may eventually have a self-perpetuating population of sea eagles.

That this success has been been achieved despite several instances where birds were shot or poisoned, especially in Kerry, augurs well for the birds’ resillience and the commitment of those involved in the reintroduction programme.

There is, however, a terrible irony in the fact that as we express ever greater interest and commitment to protecting wildlife more and more species are in such terrible jeopardy. As in so many other spheres — lots more to do.

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