A bird of prey which has been extinct in Ireland since 1912 could be set to reclaim an area of Co Donegal as its territory.
Organisers of a scheme to reintroduce the Golden Eagle to Glenveagh National Park say the project has been a success, with some birds about to enter their second winter.
A total of 14 newly-hatched eagles were brought over from Scotland in the first relocation scheme of its kind in Ireland.
Project manager Lorcan O'Toole said that only one of the birds brought over to the park has not survived.
"We're very pleased with the success rate to date," he said. "It is much better than we expected - we have only lost one eagle so far."
Golden Eagles were common in Ireland until the 1850s, when they went into severe decline. The last record of them breeding in the country was 1912.
Mr O'Toole said that efforts began in 1989 to reintroduce the bird to Co Donegal, which is known to be a former breeding site.
"Our group thought this would be one way of raising awareness of birds of prey," he said.
"Ireland has one of the lowest ranges of birds of prey in Europe. Because of the country's island status it is harder for birds to reinstate themselves here."
In August 2000 six eagles aged five to six weeks were taken from Scotland, after a licence had been secured from the Scottish Executive. A further eight birds were then taken in August 2001.
A small radio transmitter was attached to each of them so that they could be tracked once they were released into wild five weeks later.
Using an aerial on top of his vehicle Mr O'Toole monitors the whereabouts of the birds and records their movements.
"Each bird has a unique radio frequency," he said. "The birds have been known to go at least 50km away but have all come back.
"This homing instinct proves we have tricked Scottish chicks into thinking Glenveagh is their natal site."
"We're very pleased with the success rate, but there are a lot of obstacles still remaining.
"None of these birds are territorial yet, we want to see them establishing their own territories and building nests."
He said the eagles would only be truly established when they start breeding at the age of four to five years.
Co Donegal's new inhabitants, which are almost at their full wing span of 6ft, can now be seen soaring across the valley of Glenveagh.
Mr O'Toole and a steering group of 13 people are in charge of the project, which is managed by the Irish Raptor Study Group and the Curlew Trust.
Although it is the first project of its kind in Ireland around 400 other schemes have been carried out worldwide.
PA