Thanks to the National Parks and Wildlife service we can now follow the intrigues and antics of the white-tailed eagle pair nesting in Glengarriff Co. Cork live via their very own nestcam.
Part of a reintroduction programme for the species that began in 2007, the adult eagles (male Blue W and female Black P) have successfully hatched a chick over recent days and it’s a real privilege to be able to watch them feed and care for it.
The only white-tailed eagle to fledge in Co. Cork was raised at this nest site by Blue W with a different female (Green D) during the 2016 breeding season, but Green D was ousted by Black P in 2018. This current pair has yet to raise a chick successfully so fingers crossed for a good year this year… live on camera.
White tailed eagles became extinct in Ireland over 100 years ago, but an ambitious reintroduction programme saw the reintroduction of 100 eagle fledglings between 2007 and 2011. Those birds are now pairing up and breeding across the island of Ireland, and despite numerous setbacks (illegal poisonings, shootings, etc.) young Irish eagles are taking to the skies again. It’s a slow process, but a native Irish eagle population is gradually establishing itself. The Glengarriff pair are firm favourites on our Discover Wildlife Weekends and Wildlife Holidays — and we hope to get out to see junior and his/her parents in person later in the year when the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
Fingers crossed this little chick in Glengarriff will fledge successfully in late summer to join the growing number of eagles soaring Irish skies.
See the Golden Eagle Trust site for more background on the White-tailed Eagle reintroduction project.
You can find out more about the history of the Glengarriff White-tailed Eagle pair here.
Fantastic stuff- it is a privilege to watch this and congratulations to all involved – just watching feeding on the 20th April 2020 at 19.09 – looks like there are two chicks but is she favouring one? He looks bigger and more dominant – and the other one keeps dropping the food and she diligently picks it all up.
The younger chick died last week
Yes, unfortunately. It’s not that unusual for the younger chick in white-tailed eagle brood not to make it. When eagles hatch two chicks, the smaller/weaker of the two will generally only fledge successfully in an exceptionally good breeding season. You can read more about this, including comments from Dr Alan Mee who manages the White-tailed-eagle reintroduction project, on the Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve blog.