The newest addition to the Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve has settled in wellAspen, a white-tailed eagle chick living in Glengarriff (Image: Alan McCarthy/NPWS)

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has been working hard to reintroduce the white-tailed eagle back into the Irish ecosystem, and they’ve capped off 2025 by introducing an adorable eagle chick that has settled in well at the Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve.

While this is the first we’re seeing of young Aspen, she’s been in Cork for quite a while, having fledged the nest on July 18, at just thirteen weeks of age. From there, she spent another two months learning to fish in the harbour at Glengarriff before finally striking out on her own, embarking on a journey all across Munster.

The NPWS has been able to follow her thanks to a satellite tag installed by Dr Allan Mee, which shows Aspen flew a huge loop across Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford on her first big trip before returning to Glengarriff, where she’s roamed the skies above Cork and Kerry for the last three months.

The NPWS embarked on a major campaign earlier this year to reintroduce the white tailed eagle, which was once native to Ireland. On June 26, chicks were flown from Norway to Ireland to bolster our existing population.

Less than 20 years ago, these animals were considered extinct in Ireland as they were killed off by aggressive hunting. However, since 2007, the NPWS has released over 200 white-tailed eagles, creating between 13 and 16 breeding pairs that have already hatched chicks across Munster and in Galway.

A spokesperson for the Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve shared a picture of Aspen on social media, commenting: “Eagle update: As we reach the end of 2025, we wanted to introduce this year’s beautiful Glengarriff white-tailed eagle chick. Her name is Aspen and she fledged from the nest in Glengarriff on 18th July aged 13 weeks. She was satellite-tagged by Dr Allan Mee so we can follow her movements.

“After spending two months learning to fish with her parents in Glengarriff Harbour, she left home on the 12th September. Amazingly, she travelled in a huge loop through counties Kerry, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford during her first few days away from Glengarriff (map in the comments). However, she soon returned to the south-west and has been travelling around Cork and Kerry for the last three months.”

Bringing in more chicks is still vital to the reintroduction project, as research shows that the existing white-tailed eagles remain vulnerable to being wiped out by poisoning, Bird Flu, or extreme weather. In June, the NPWS sadly reported that one member of the species was found to have been killed with an illegal insecticide in Ireland called carbofuran.

It is not known how the poison was ingested, but the incident highlights that humans are by far the biggest issue with this ambitious project. The misuse/illegal use of poisons accounts for nearly 50% of white-tailed eagle deaths where the cause of mortality was able to be determined, while at least one eagle has been shot.