[caption id="attachment_71563" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="A White Tailed Sea Eagle photographed in Scotland."]
For the first time in a century a pair of majestic White Tailed Sea Eagles have set about breeding in Ireland.
Nesting White-tailed Eagles have been confirmed on a small island on Lough Derg, near Mountshannon in County Clare, which marks the first documented evidence of breeding since the species became extinct from Ireland over 100 years ago," the conservation group, Birdwatch Ireland said in a statement.
Human persecution was the primary reason behind the disappearance of the White-tailed Eagle from Ireland during the early 20th century. However a reintroduction scheme was initiated by the Golden Eagle Trust in 2007 with the aim of re-establishing these birds in Ireland," said the statement.
"Through the reintroduction scheme young White-tailed Eagles have been taken under license from nests in Norway and released in Killarney in County Kerry every summer for the past five years. These birds have since matured and dispersed and traveled throughout the country. However, the pair which have settled on Lough Derg are the first which have been confirmed breeding."
"This success represents a phenomenal milestone for bird conservation in Ireland and BirdWatch Ireland extends warm congratulations to the project team and hope we can offer support to the Golden Eagle Trusts's efforts to see further success in future," said Alan Lauder, chief executive of BirdWatch Ireland
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, has also welcomed the nesting news.
"Already the white-tailed eagles are a wonderful asset to tourism around Killarney and wider afield in Kerry, and their spread will benefit business as well as giving joy to anglers and naturalists around the Shannon," said Deenihan.
As well as the White Tailed Eagle, Golden Eagles and Red Kites have been reintroduced to Ireland in recent years after being trapped and hunted to extinction by the end of the 19th century.
