Second white-tailed sea eagle chick for nature reserve

Glengarriff Nature Reserve has announced the arrival of a white-tailed sea eagle chick, the second born in Co Cork in this decade.

Parents Black P (female) and Blue W (male) are two of the 100 eagle chicks brought to Ireland from Norway from 2007 to 2011 as part of a programme to introduce the species to Ireland after a century of extinction.

Ireland’s new eagles are gradually becoming established breeders with about a dozen nesting pairs in counties Cork, Kerry, Tipperary and Galway. It is Ireland’s largest bird, with a wingspan of up to 2.45m. Females are about 40 per cent larger than the males and can weigh up to 7kg.

The white-tailed sea eagle reintroduction project is a joint initiative between the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Golden Eagle Trust, in collaboration with the Norsk Institutt for Naturforskning and the Norwegian Ornithological Society. The project is managed by Dr Allan Mee.

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Conservation rangers were able to monitor the arrival of the chick at close quarters due to a remote camera set up near the birds’ nest. The live feed from the camera was – and still is – shared online so all viewers can get an up close and personal view.

‘A message of hope’

“It’s a particular thrill to be able to share some of the excitement of watching eagles at the nest with a much wider audience. Many people are largely confined to home at the moment so I hope bringing this bit of nature to people wherever they are brings a spark of joy and a message of hope,” said conservation ranger Clare Heardman.

Eagles have been nesting in Glengarriff since 2013. In 2016 a pair of eagles at the nest raised the first eagle chick to fledge in Co Cork in more than a century. It was called Eddie.

In 2018 the original female (Green D) was ousted by the younger female Black P. This new pairing of parents had up to now not fledged a chick. Bad timing and weather, including Storm Hannah, were the causes according to the rangers who said they were delighted with their latest success.

The sea eagle chicks can be seen here.

The history of the project, with images of the eagles is available here.