Golden Eagles in Ireland

Dub13

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2005/05/11/story202034.html

Hopes rise for Golden Eagles in Ireland
11/05/2005 - 12:13:53

Conservationists are confident Golden Eagles will successfully breed in Ireland after a pair laid an egg in Donegal for the first time in almost a century.

Lorcan O’Toole, manager of the Golden Eagle Trust breeding project, said officials were delighted that the young birds had nested this spring.

“We are please they bred this year as it is the earliest possible opportunity for breeding. The birds can live to around 25 to 30 years but they take four to five years to mature before they breed,” he said.

Mr O’Toole said the project was hoping to successfully breed Golden Eagles in the state over the next few years.

Officials said that 35 young birds were released into Glenveagh National Park in Donegal since the ambitious breeding project officially started in 2001.

Environment Minister Dick Roche welcomed the confirmation of the nesting from the Golden Eagle Project as a positive step towards the re-introduction of the birds of prey in Donegal.

He said: “It represents an exciting landmark in the project to re-introduce the species to Ireland.”

Mr Roche added: “My Department has now reached agreement with the Golden Eagle Trust which will ensure that core funding for the project will continue up to 2008.”

The pair of four-year-old birds that bred had nested on a small cliff face ledge, sheltered by an overhanging rock. Officials said the female bird was very attentive to the incubating egg in March, however, last month the male bird was found to be absent from the nest.

Conservationists discovered during a observation visit to the nest that the single egg was watery and was infertile or had failed at an early stage during incubation.

Mr O’Toole said it was normal for the first two to three breeding attempts by inexperienced young birds to fail.

Mr O’Toole said: “It is a good start. A lot of birds fail in their first breeding attempt. It is not surprising that they failed but we feel it is a major step forward. We are hoping in time to form a viable population.”

Officials tracking the birds by their electronic tags found they had travelled as far south as Kerry and the western seaboard after their release in Donegal.

The birds’ exact location in Donegal has not been disclosed to ensure they are not disturbed.

The sight of the birds of prey soaring in the Derryveagh Mountains in Donegal was once a common sight but habitat changes and hunting led to their extinction.

The last time Golden Eagles successfully bred in the state was in 1912.

The reproduction project has been supported through the Life Nature Fund, the Environment Department, the EU and public and private sectors.

BEAT

thanks for the info, nice post