Tag Archives: Dr Allan Mee

THE Mountshannon White Tailed Sea Eagles have welcomed two chicks this past week and visitors are expected to flock to catch a glimpse of the new arrivals. The new chicks bring the number hatched there to six. Four of these survived to fledge but, sadly, one was shot in Tipperary in its first year. Last year, the birds were unsuccessful in breeding but Dr Allan Mee of the White Tailed Sea Eagle reintroduction project says the hatching of two birds this year is very promising. “It’s pretty much always two eggs and then not always two chicks hatch, or one or both might die at critical times of hatching. Fingers crossed both will make it – certainly one will, but two only make it in a good year. But then, Lough Derg has been very productive – there’s plenty of fish – so I’d be pretty hopeful” Dr Mee said. He said, so far, the reintroduction scheme has had six …

THE East Clare economy soared by an extra €500,000 last year, thanks to the lure of the first successful breeding pair of white-tailed sea eagles in the country in over a century. Clare County Council, which funds the popular White Tailed Sea Eagle Viewing and Information Point at Mountshannon Pier, confirmed the facility generated more than €500,000 for the local economy in 2014. A visitor survey conducted last year found that 43% of people reported the attraction of the sea eagles was the primary factor influencing their decision to visit Mountshannon. More than 10,000 people flocked to the shores of Lough Derg between mid-July and September 2014 to catch a glimpse of the eagles which had nested on Bushy Island, off Mountshannon Bay. A person from Northern Ireland on a sabbatical completed a visitor survey of those attending the viewing and information point. Dr Allan Mee of the Golden Eagle Trust acknowledged that some day trippers visiting Mountshannon last year …

THE only White-tailed Sea Eagle to be born and survive in the wild this year in Ireland has taken her first flight, much to the delight of the locals and visitors to Mountshannon. A week or two later than expected, the chick fledged for the first time on Saturday last. Although she is approximately three months old, the eaglet is fully grown and not what the average person would expect when you hear the work ‘chick’. The Golden Eagle Trust, which is running the reintroduction programme, has identified the chick as female. Speaking about the latest addition to the Mountshannon eagle clan, Dr Allan Mee of the Golden Eagle Trust said, “She’s fully grown now. The chick is a female and they are bigger than males; they are 10% bigger than males. The female has a wingspan of around 2.4 metres, so you’re talking a 7.5 to eight-foot wingspan.” Dr Mee said they were able to place a satellite transmitter …

MORE  than 2500 visitors have so far flocked to see the White Tailed Sea Eagles viewing and information point  in Mountshannon since it was officially opened on July 4 last. Located at Mountshannon Pier and funded by Clare County Council, the new tourism development features telescopes and information and displays about Ireland’s largest and most spectacular breeding birds, including the first of the species to be born in the country in 110 years on Bushy Island in Lough Derg. The facility is being operated by the Mountshannon Eagle Group, Mountshannon Community Council and the Golden Eagle Trust, and will remain open until the end of September. Congella McGuire, Clare Heritage Officer said the introduction of the viewing point has further increased public interest in the local White Tailed Sea Eagle population without disturbing them in their natural habitat. “Since the birds first arrived in Mountshannon three years ago, the council has worked closely with the Golden Eagle Trust and the local …