3 August 2020
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Having been watched by thousands of people on our live EagleCam for 11 weeks, the Glengarriff white-tailed eagle chick has now fledged and the public have a change of choosing a name. Please note, Eagle McEagleface will not be considered!
The eagle chick is gradually finding her wings and she recently made her first trip to the mainland – her longest flight yet of around 2km. She is expected to leave the nest for good in the coming weeks, but not without a name…
The chick’s mother was one of 100 chicks brought from Norway between 2007 and 2011 as part of a white-tailed eagle reintroduction project. She is the first female eagle to fledge in Co Cork in over 100 years.
Her story is all the more remarkable because she was raised by a single female eagle after dad disappeared when she was just over two weeks old. The chick would not have survived without the help of NPWS who provided supplementary food with the assistance of local fishermen, ferrymen and Fota Wildlife Park. Everyone at Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve and in the National Parks and Wildlife Service are really grateful to them all.
Over the next few weeks she will learn to become independent and will sadly leave her nest and, possibly the Glengarriff area. However, she is satellite tagged so we will be able to follow her travels closely over the coming weeks and months!
So, now that she’s safely fledged and can fly strongly, the time has come to name her.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is inviting the public to suggest names for this remarkable bird. She weighed in at a whopping 6.8kg when she was tagged, and is in very good health. Those seeking naming inspiration can observed the chick on the Eagle Cam via the Glengariff Woods NR Facebook page.
How to enter
To enter the naming competition, just suggest a name in the comments on the Glengariff Nature Reserve Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/GlengarriffWoodsNatureReserve/ and the staff there will pick a winner on August 14th!