Mountshannon - White Tailed Sea Eagle

Last week two White tailed sea eagles fleged from their nest on an island on Lough Derg. This pair of juvenilles are the first sea eagels to be born in Ireland in over 100 years.

I decided to head off to Mountshannon in East Clare to see if I could catch a glimpse of these majestic birds.

On the quay I met with Nigel Beers-Smith who has been ensconced since mid february on the dock, monitoring, photographing and documenting the new lives of the new family. He is planning to wrtie a book about it and you can find out more about him and his efforts at www.whitetailedseaeagle.com

I also met up with the charismatic wildlife photographer Michael Finn who has a huge expertease in wildlife photography. You can see some of his wonderful images at www.imagesofirishwildlife.ie.

Unfortuatley I didnt catch a glimpse of the eagles after 3 hours. Nigel informed me that there is no set time or pattern to their appearance. They have been seen from 4.30 am untill 11 pm. The adult eagles have their favouite pearches, the male on the left of the island and the female on the right. The nesting location is in the middle of the island at the tallest tree. The eagles have been recorded taking 3ft pike a s prey. They also fish arounf the reed beds that surround the island. With a wingspan of 8m these birds are stunning and I hope to visit Mountshannon again to see the eagles.

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