Seventeen years passed since the inaugural arrival of white-tailed sea eagles from Norway to Kerry Airport in Farranfore, during which the majestic birds were greeted with dissenting demonstrations; anxieties were peaked amongst farmers over their lambs in the Macgillicuddy’s Reeks being the newest prey for the imposing raptors.
Contrarily, a number of these initially apprehensive farmers are now endorsers of the programme, providing a residence for the newly arrived birds, and volunteering to lend a hand to the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) in their ongoing reintroduction scheme.
The change of heart offers delight to Dr Philip Buckley of the NPWS, the devoted manager of the southwest region division that takes to the eagle project. While the project’s initial years were marred by poisonings and shootings, the present attitude leans firmly towards conservation, declares Buckley.
“The farmers are exhibiting fantastic support recently,” Buckley asserts, recounting a chance meeting with a farmer – a protester back in 2007 – who is presently neighbouring a holding pen, volunteering any aid he can offer.
Contrary to fears, eagles are not fond of the newborn Mangerton lamb. As apex predators, they will consume virtually anything, with scavenged carrion being a favourite food.
Equipped with satellite tags, the sea eagles’ movements are diligently monitored and, sometimes, immobility is registered. Most of the time, this implies that the birds, each weighing in excess of 6kg, have located sufficent sustenance to remain sedentary for a span of days.
In addition to the regional fauna, fish are on the menu too. They fish along coasts and in lakes. Their kingly 8-foot wingspan provides a sightseeing delight for tourists visiting the Gap of Dunloe.
In the latest event, 27 birds were flown in from Norway on a special charter flight for the project. The majestic birds are making temporary homes within a range of locations, including the Killarney National Park, the Lower Shannon estuary near Tarbert, and Lough Corrib.
Not only this, maintaining the project demands significant logistical manoeuvring and the summer workforce reaches 50, counting NPWS rangers and part-time staff.
“This is a grand endeavor. It is now in place not just for supporting sea eagles but ospreys as well,” says an optimistic Buckley, pointing towards the NPWS’s freshest reintroduction programme that feeds off the expertise gathered from the eagle initiative.
The present year was quite propitious for Norway’s sea eagles, with about 30% of all nests in the Trondheim area rearing two or more chicks.
Buckley elucidates that only nests containing more than one chick have chicks extracted, and this is executed when they’ve grown adequately. Distinct elements played a role in the initial disappearance of these birds, with violent acts and toxic substances forming part of the equation. The turmoil caused by 2017’s Storm Ophelia resulted in the ground-fall of the nests, while avian influenza claimed two highly adept mating pairs in Lough Derg.
However, as shown through satellite tagged data, eagles are seemingly dispersed across the Irish isle. Compliments pour in regarding Ireland’s white-tailed sea eagle initiative within global avian sectors, says Buckley. The scheme is a unified effort between the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Golden Eagle Trust, in cooperation with the NorskInstitutt for Naturforskning (NINA) and the Norwegian Ornithological Society.
Over the past 17 years, significant expertise has accumulated within Ireland, with the project paving the path for reintroduction of the osprey; a migratory species in contrast to the eagle, last witnessed breeding here 200 years ago. Post the release of nine freshly hatched osprey chicks in Co Waterford the previous year, around fifty ospreys were gradually introduced over half a decade, with the NPWS benefiting from Norwegian collaboration once more.
Previously, late Charles Haughey harboured aspirations of instigating the reintroduction of white-tailed sea eagles. Records stored at west Kerry’s Ionad an Bhlascaoid elaborate on his correspondences with Golden Eagle Trust and a temporary introduction of an eagle pair to his Inis Mhic Aoibhleáin. The male, Aillil, succumbed, possibly to a crow onslaught, while the larger female, Maeve endured for several years.
The launch of the National Parks and Wildlife Service reinstatement initiative began in 2007 in Killarney National Park under the guidance of Dr Allen Mee, a participant in the American condor project. With the bird population still appearing susceptible, the programme was reignited in 2020. Chicks are raised in aviaries before they are set free – typically at around four years old, when their white tails have fully grown.
Welcoming the eagles onto his property near the borderline of Limerick, milk producer Shane Wall pronounces his involvement in the project as incredible. “Upon their release, we get to marvel at their majesty for a period spanning several months, typically until Christmas, post which they depart,” he explains. Wall was not a part of the opposition in Farranfore, but he recalls the panic, especially amongst sheep herders fretting over their territories.