Wildlife experts in both Ireland and Norway had hoped that the eagles would successfully breed making it the first documented case in Ireland in over a century.

The breeding pair, which settled in the area in early 2011, was originally released in Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry, as part of a white-tailed Eagle reintroduction programme. The birds were brought here from the island of Frøya off the west coast of Norway.

Last month, it was confirmed that the 4-year-old male and 3-year-old female eagles had set up home on an island on Lough Derg near Mountshannon.

Golden Eagle Trust project manager Dr Allan Mee has now confirmed: “These are young eagles and this was their first attempt to breed and there was a 50/50 chance that they would. But something happened during the day on Tuesday when suddenly the birds abandoned the nest. They flew to nearby trees and didn’t come back for a couple of hours.”

While there have been disturbing incidents in other parts of the country where white-tailed eagles have been poisoned or shot, Dr Mee confirmed that there was no evidence of any such attempt in this case.

“We checked to see if something was going on on the island but there was no evidence of that. It looks like like they left the nest right on the point of hatching,” Dr Mee added.

He suspects that the chicks may have died on hatching but he also fears that the nest may have been disturbed by the high winds over the weekend.

Dr Mee and his team were due to visit the island late yesterday (Wednesday) to further investigate what might have happened but he expressed confidence that the eagles will remain in the area.

“The birds are not going to abandon the area. They are visible around the island at the moment so it will be interesting to see how long they stay around but they will stay in the area even if they nest further up the shore next time,” Dr Mee added.

The eagles have also proven to be a huge attraction to locals and visitors to the Mountshannon area in recent weeks.

Dinner Time!

Feeding time for the White Tailed Sea Eagles in Mountshannon

The White Tailed Eagles are busy building up their energy before their eggs hatch out in the coming days.  A steady flow of visitors to Mountshannon Harbour everyday to view the WTSE from the viewing point at the Harbour. Video by: Nigle- Beer- Smith

Having a high ceiling, it was as if the room caught the last rays of the sun holding on to them longer, despite the pouring rain outside, again. A view of the lake, something to read, drink tea or doze off a bit. We really enjoyed our stay here! read more

2012 Programe for Iniscealtra Festival of Art

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A pair of young white-tailed sea eagles have bred for the first time in Ireland in over a century.

The breeding pair – a four-year old male and three year-old female reintroduced here from Norway – have chosen an island on Lough Derg to nest, and are currently incubating their young.

The pair had settled in the Mountshannon area of Clare early last year, and began to build their nest in early April.

Dr Allan Mee, Irish White-tailed Sea Eagle Reintroduction Programme project manager with the Golden Eagle Trust, told The Irish Times that it would be at least three weeks before the young hatched.

He described it today as a “truly momentous event for Clare and Ireland”, and appealed to the public to give the birds space. The trust has applied for an exclusion zone through the National Parks and Wildlife Service to ensure that the birds are not disturbed, and public viewing of the island will be facilitated at Mountshannon pier. The pair were released in Killarney National Park, Co. Kerry, and this is the first known nesting since the programme began in co-operation with Norway. The project is funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in partnership with Golden Eagle Trust.

Norumm Myklebust of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), expressed delight at the development, and said that the institute was proud to have co-operated in the programme.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan has also welcomed the development.

“Already the white-tailed eagles are a wonderful asset to tourism around Killarney and wider afield in Kerry, and their spread will benefit business as well as giving joy to anglers and naturalists around the Shannon,”Mr Deenihan has said.

White-tailed sea eagles, which were driven to extinction here in the early 20th century, are a protected species and it is an offence under the Wildlife Act to willfully disturb birds at the nest during the breeding season. To date, some 20 of the 100 birds introduced have been discovered dead, mainly due to poisoning.

The re-introduced birds have dispersed widely over the past four years, with at least six flying to Scotland, one flying over 2,000km to the Orkney islands and then returning to Kerry, and many crossing the border to the North

“The Inishcealtra Festival of Arts, featuring art displays and performances; workshops; music and entertainment; is held in the picturesque and family friendly village of Mountshannon on the shores of Lough Derg. The theme of the 2012 festival is ‘Celebration’ where the festival will salute the ability of local communities to prosper in darker times and to foster a sense of self-reliance through the use of ‘found’ and ‘obsolete’ material in the creation of art work. Now in its 17th year and running across ten days from the end of May, this well-established festival always features a mixture of both challenging and accessible art exhibitions and performances, live entertainment, family days for all ages, classical and traditional music, film, a Green Fair Day and various educational and artistic workshops.”

Telephone:+353 (0)87 238 0555

Email: paul.murray@sal.ie

Website: www.iniscealtra-artsfestival.org
Address: Mountshannon, Co Clare, Republic Of Ireland
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