Attempts to reintroduce some birds of prey to the Irish countryside are enjoying success, despite setbacks
IRISH CULTURE and mythology bear strong echoes of the natural world. Place names, folklore, poetry and songs all point to a nature-loving past.
It is perhaps surprising then that by the beginning of the 20th century, many native plants and animals had become extinct.
“With increasing agriculture, there was a drive to control our environment,” says Lorcán O’Toole, general manager of the Golden Eagle Trust. “Anything posing a threat or getting in the way had to be controlled and tamed. Whether it involved draining the wetlands or wiping out predatory animals.”
Several birds of prey species, which were heavily targeted in the 18th century, were wiped out in the process.
The Golden Eagle Trust, in partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, is working to re-establish the Irish populations of three top predatory birds: the red kite, the golden eagle and the white-tailed sea eagle.
“We are trying to rediscover the well-known and deep connection between Irish culture and nature, going back for centuries,” says O’Toole.
There are many reasons to bring back a population that was made extinct by the actions of humans, according to those trying to do so.
For one thing, they represent very good indicators of the fitness of an ecosystem, according to Allan Mee, project manager of the white-tailed sea eagle reintroduction. “White-tailed sea eagles are a biomonitor of the health of the environment. A good white-tailed sea eagle population is indicative of a healthy marine environment,” he says. Ultimately, however, the project will be a success only if it has the support of local people, he adds.
To reinstate the Irish populations, young birds are taken from our near neighbours. The red kites are from Wales, the golden eagles are from Scotland, and the white-tailed sea eagles are from Norway.
The birds are brought here when they are just a few weeks old. They go through quarantine and are released as soon as they are old enough to fly.
For the first few weeks after release, the fledglings still need a helping hand, as they would normally rely on their parents for extra food. So the trust puts out food at various sites twice a week for a month or two after a release.
The first releases were in 2001. Most recently, 159 red kites have been released in counties Wicklow and Dublin, 77 white-tailed sea eagles in Kerry, and 60 golden eagles in Donegal, with up to 15 more still to be released.
The project has been described as a success, and has received support from local people and raptor-research communities in each of the stock-providing countries.
There have been some problems, however. To date 37 birds have been killed, some of which have been poisoned or shot. “Poisoning has been the biggest threat to the project, as we envisaged it would be,” says O’Toole.
The numbers of confirmed poisonings peaked last year when nine of the released birds were found dead.
Mee points out that the birds were not the intended victims, but that they had eaten poisoned carcasses intended to kill other predators, such as foxes. “This has mainly been a problem in sheep-farming areas,” he explains
This year there has been a fall in the numbers of birds being poisoned, probably due to a tightening of legislation. It is now illegal to use poison outdoors.
Mee says the drop could also be a result of an awareness campaign, and educating farmers on alternatives to poison. The reintroduction of the birds and the publicity about the discovery of poisoned birds has not been welcomed by everybody in the farming community.
James McCarthy, chairman of the Kerry branch of the Irish Farmers’ Association, says farmers do not have a problem with the eagles if they do not interfere with their stock or their property, but he feels farmers have been unfairly singled out and blamed for the poisonings.
“The supporters of the white-tailed eagle project seem to think that biodiversity has to be imposed on farmers through legislation, toxicology reports and prosecutions,” he says.
McCarthy says it is the responsibility of the trust to educate farmers and to make them aware of any legislation changes regarding the use of poison. “They must ensure that practical and workable alternatives [to poison] are readily available to all farmers,” he says.
The releases are now almost complete, but the project is far from over. “This is a long-term project. Even when the releases are over there is still much to do be done. The released birds are tracked and monitored, and this will continue until a viable population is achieved,” says O’Toole.
Seeing the first wild Irish golden eagle chick fledge in 2007 was a highlight for O’Toole.
The white-tailed sea eagles are still too young to breed, but they are forming pairs. Mee is hopeful that he will see the first chicks next year.
The red kites are very different to the slow-growing eagles. They have been quicker to breed and had 11 chicks last year and 17 this year. The east of Ireland seems to suit them.
“We are really, really pleased, it has been absolutely fantastic and it is a great indicator that the kites are doing well,” says Marc Ruddock, project manager of Red Kite Reintroduction.
Return of the raptors: Help spot the predators
Until recently, surprisingly little was known about birds of prey in Ireland. "It was a vicious circle. There was a lack of birds of prey because of extinction, so because they weren't there, there were few studies on them," says Lorcán O'Toole, of the Golden Eagle Trust.
His team is studying dispersal and survival rates of the white-tailed sea eagles, golden eagles and red kites released as part of three reintroduction projects.
"We are using the newest available technology to improve the detection and survival rate of the birds," says O'Toole.
Some of the cutting-edge science includes satellite tags, which are fitted to the birds before their release. Tracking the birds using these tags threw up some surprising results.
"The satellite tags showed us that the white-tailed sea eagles fly much longer distances than had been previously thought," says Allan Mee, project manager of the white-tailed sea eagle reintroduction. "They are real wanderers as they search for the best places to breed."
Unfortunately satellite tags are costly and just one costs as much as 30 radio tags. But they do have a big advantage.
Radio tracking works only if the bird is within 50km of the receiver. It also requires a person to go out with a hand-held receiver to search for the birds.
Satellite tags have unlimited range and they relay hourly information on the whereabouts of the bird to a computer. This gives a "fascinating amount of detail", says Marc Ruddock, project manager of Red Kite Reintroduction. The tags also have a "mortality" switch. If the bird has not moved in four hours, the switch triggers an alarm so the team knows it might be in trouble.
Six of the white-tailed sea eagles, three golden eagles and three red kites have satellite tags.
Two stars of the ambitious raptor reintroduction project are Star and Fiadhna, male and female white-tailed sea eagles. Since their release in Kerry in 2009, their satellite tags have shown each has visited almost every county in Ireland.
Another male white-tailed sea eagle, with the James Bond-style name of L, made an epic trip to the Orkney Islands, more than 1,000km from his release site in Kerry. Incredibly, L made it more than two-thirds of the way to Norway, before he turned around and returned to Ireland.
The public are invited to report sightings of the birds on the Golden Eagle Trust website (goldeneagle.ie). "The public have been very helpful reporting the birds they see," says Ruddock.
These sightings are verified by tagging data, so you can check whether you really did spot a white-tailed sea eagle or whether it was just a buzzard.
– Amy Strange