The call of The Golden Eagle is distinctive to the ear, a sound which can be heard with increasing frequency since the first of 50 young Eagles were released in Glenveagh National Park in Donegal over eighteen years ago.
Derek Mooney and Zoologist and Ornithologist Dr. Richard Collins recorded a radio documentary about The Golden Eagle in 2001. Tonight you can hear a snippet of that programme with a contribution from Lorcan O'Toole of the Golden Eagle Trust, the full documentary can be heard here.
In 2001, these were the first birds to be imported from Scotland, in the Irish Raptor Study Group's bid to re-introduce the Golden Eagle to Ireland almost a century after it had been rendered extinct. The Eagles were met at their new home in Glenveagh by Dúchas Minister Síle de Valera. The media turned out in force, with four TV crews, a battalion of press photographers and a host of well-wishers from all over the county. Dr. Richard Collins, of Mooney Goes Wild, joined the Golden Eagle re-introduction team when they collected some of the young eagles from Scottish eyries.
The project took a huge step forward last year with the exciting news that a Donegal-bred bird had finally hatched a chick in Glenveagh for the first time. We’re not the only country to have taken this route and where England, Scotland, and Ireland have led, Wales is now primed to follow.
Dr Paul O’Donoghue, is the Project Lead for Wilder Britain, an organisation committed to restoring Britain’s eco-systems in collaboration with local communities. Our own Eric Dempsey of Birds Ireland spoke to Paul about their plans to reintroduce the golden eagle into Snowdonia in Wales.
Once a common sight in skies over Wales, the golden and white-tailed eagle were driven to extinction there in the mid-1800's. Loss of habitat and human persecution have left the European population of both eagle species in decline. As Paul O’Donoghue mentioned with Eric Dempsey, Wales has taken much of its inspiration from the Irish experience.
Starting in 2001, the first of 61 Golden Eagles were released in Glenveagh National Park. The birds had been collected from nests on the highlands and islands of Scotland. Last year the project received a huge boost when the first chick hatched successfully in Donegal.
But how close are we to the prospect of having healthy numbers of Golden Eagles soaring high Irish skies? To discuss this in more detail, Lorcan O'Toole, Managing Director of The Golden Eagle Trust joins our Mooney Goes Wild panel of Derek Mooney, Zoologist and Ornithologist Dr. Richard Collins and Niall Hatch of Birdwatch Ireland.
