The project to breed majestic golden eagles across Ireland received another shot in the arm with the news that TWO more chicks have been born in Donegal this summer.
The project has now seen a total of EIGHT Irish-bred birds released into the wilds around Glenveagh National Park.
Co-ordinator of the Golden Eagle Trust, Lorcan O’Toole, said he was pleased with the progress of the scheme which has now released 60 eagles across Ireland.
He told Donegaldaily.com “I would describe it as slow but steady. We are pleased that we have had two chicks this year.
“It was a very wet season and that is not good for breeding eagles. Overall we would like to be having four of five chicks born eventually each year.”
The horrific gorse fires which raged across the county this summer did not help the eagle’s plight however.
Large sections of feeding grounds for the bird’s main feeding grounds after wiping out large poulations of hare and red grouse.
One empty nest that had been built by a pair of eagles, that did not lay eggs, was burnt and large parts of 3 other eagle territories were also burnt.
It is hoped that up to 75 birds will be brought into Ireland in total from Scotland in the coming years in order to sustain our own breeding population.
“That is our target. Eight chicks is not a bad return and those wild chicks wil be a lot stronger than the ones brought over from Scotland and bred in captivity.
“We are going to have years like this in which bad weather was a big fatcor but two chicks is not bad. Overall I think we can be very positive with the outlook,” said Mr O’Toole.
And he added that the spate of poisonings last year which killed a number of golden eagles and red kites across the country would seem to have stopped.
“I think the message is getting out there that birds of prey are not a danger to livestock,” hes aid.
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