White-tailed eagles spotted in the Little Brosna Callows

A PAIR of white-tailed eagles were spotted by birdwatchers in the Little Brosna Callows near Birr and Banagher last week.
Sightings of this magnificent bird in the Callows area have been reported on a number of occasions over the years. The bird has a wing span from 6 to 8 feet.
Historically, white-tailed eagles were native across Ireland but were driven to extinction as a breeding species by the late 19th century, mainly due to persecution. Since 2007, a reintroduction programme using birds from Norway, managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), has restored the species. There are now an estimated 150 individuals in the wild in Ireland, sufficient to sustain the population.
The White-tailed Eagle was persecuted in Ireland and across Europe due to the myth that it threatened livestock, particularly lambs, and game birds. As a large and conspicuous raptor, it was easily blamed for stock losses, and bounties were paid for killing birds of prey. (Below is a picture of one of the eagles flying over the Little Brosna Callows last week).

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These concerns were unfounded. Scientific studies across Europe show that healthy lambs are not a typical prey item, and most reported cases involve scavenging on animals already dead rather than active predation. While they may occasionally take wildfowl, they do not pose a population-level threat to game species.
White-tailed eagles are opportunistic feeders, taking mainly fish, waterbirds, and carrion. Ecologically, they function as apex predators and scavengers, recycling nutrients and helping to maintain balanced wetland and coastal ecosystems.
The return of the white-tailed eagle, known in Irish as the ‘Iolar Mara’, restores an important native species to our wetlands and coasts and reconnects the landscape with a bird long reflected in Irish language and place names.
Despite this recovery, they remain vulnerable to illegal persecution, poisoning, disturbance, and emerging pressures such as collisions with, or displacement by, energy infrastructure, including wind turbines and power lines.
The Little Brosna Callows pair can be viewed on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Km7uackU1jo

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