Experts stunned by eagle encounter over Aillwee

EXPERTS were left stunned recently after a white-tailed sea eagle from Killarney National Park was spotted in the skies above North Clare. The bird was observed as a captive eagle was released during a demonstration but it was what happened next that has left falconers so amazed.
As the public filtered into the Burren Bird of Prey Centre at Aillwee Cave, James Irons, falconer at the centre, spotted a huge raptor soaring high above the massive limestone cliffs of the Burren.  
“It could only be one thing, one of our rare white-tailed sea eagles from the Golden Eagle Trust’s Reintroduction Programme,” he said. 
“In an amazing turn of fate, the first bird to be flown in our demonstration was Seka, our own juvenile white-tailed sea eagle. She spotted the eagle straight away, her eyes fixed on the massive bird circling in the distance. I wondered how the wild bird would react once Seka took to the sky. There was no doubt in my mind that the wild eagle would spot her as soon as she opened her wings,” James explained.
“Seka took off into the air, flying her normal 300m or so into the fields and onto her perch. At that instance, the wild eagle changed her course and in a matter of seconds was above the centre. Our eagle, Seka, now totally engrossed in the presence of one of her own, refused to respond to me and my colleague giving the demonstration. A little concerned but not alarmed, we carried on with the demonstration.
“The wild eagle then started to descend like a parachute, stalling her wings and literally dropping out of the sky. She must have descended 300m in a few seconds. The alarm bells started to ring. With the 300 plus members of the audience standing and straining with cameras and binoculars, as well as gasps of pure awe, we sprang into action thinking the worst,” he added.
“In my 15 years of flying many different types of raptors in different parts of the world, I have never seen anything like this and had no idea how things were going to unfold. I know that sea eagles can be tolerant of each other, especially juveniles mooching about the countryside, but this bird was flying with an angry look in her eyes.
“Only 200m from the centre and with a couple of hundred people looking on, she levelled out and circled Seka a few times. At this point, our eagle gave a few deep wing beats and blessed the air, catching a thermal right away. With another stroke of luck, the wind direction was perfect to bring the two eagles right over the centre. With no sign of aggression, they flew together drifting off downwind until, finally, Seka turned back and flew home to the centre,” James recalled.
“That was truly the most amazing thing I have ever seen in Irish skies and, hopefully, one that will help bring about a change of attitude towards raptors and the continued outstanding work done by the Golden Eagle Trust that will be seen by our future generations,” he said.
The Golden Eagle Trust manages the Irish White-Tailed Sea Eagle Reintroduction Programme in Kerry, the Golden Eagle Reintroduction Programme in Donegal and the Red Kite Reintroduction Programme in Wicklow, in partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
The wild eagle departed when a pair of local ravens chased it away in vocal style.
Experts involved in the reintroduction programme were shocked to hear of the unusual encounter. “I was stunned to hear this story and see the amazing photograph of the captive White Tailed Eagle from the Burren Birds of Prey Centre in flight with one of our wild released birds from Kerry cruising high above it. Then to hear that she descended down to check the other eagle out and both ended up flying together briefly, the only word I can think of is awesome,” said Dr Allan Mee, project manager of the White Tailed Eagle Reintroduction in Kerry.
“This wild bird was a female taken from a nest in Norway in June 2009 and released in Killarney National Park in August last year. The tags she was carrying identified her. Interestingly, she returned to Killarney just a few days after visiting the Burren.
“I would have loved to have seen the interaction between wild and captive eagles. In the wild, we regularly see all sorts of fabulous displays between eagles. They seem to love to play on the wing, chasing each other, diving at each other and doing cartwheels but this must have been some sight for all the people watching the display at the Burren centre. 
“Given a little tolerance and understanding, we could be seeing white-tailed eagles thrill people all along our coast and lakes when they settle to breed. Having lived among eagles in Scotland for 13 years when I came home to Ireland, it always felt like there was something special missing from the Irish skies with no eagles there. Wouldn’t it be great to see them back?” Dr Mee concluded.