White-tailed Eagle chicks released in Killarney National Park

A number white-tailed eagle chicks have been released at Killarney National Park today.

It’s part of an ongoing National Parks and Wildlife Service programme to reintroduce the bird, which was once extinct in Ireland.

To the resue... Conservation Ranger Michéal Suibhne rescues one of the newly released White-tailed Eagle Chicks on the Shannon Estuary this week
The chicks are among the final cohort of this phase of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) project which was originally established in 2007 and which, to date, has overseen the release of some 245 chicks into the wild. The programme is ending following a number of releases around the country this month. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan/FREE PIC/NPWS

First Flight...The Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, today marked the successful end of the White-Tailed Eagle Reintroduction Programme with the release of four white-tailed eagle chicks back into the wild at Killarney National Park.
Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan/FREE PIC/NPWS

245 Norwegian chicks have been released into the wild since 2007, 26 will be released across the country over the next few days.

Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan was present to release the chicks.

The chicks have all been fitted with satellite tags in order to track their movements.

The Minister said that it is a significant day for biodiversity in Ireland.

The long wait...Regional Manager National Parks and Wildlife Service Eamonn Meskell, left, Duncan John Halley Norsk Institutt for Nature, Norway and Padruig O'Sullivan, Conservation Ranger, Killarney National Park, waiting for the White-tailed Eagle Chicks to fly. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan/FREE PIC/NPWS