A PROJECT to encourage ospreys to breed in Ireland is being organised by the Irish Wildbird Conservancy in conjunction with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The osprey is a fish eagle with spectacular fish catching skills, frequently featured in wildlife documentaries. Sightings of the bird have increased in recent years, especially in Ulster, and some individuals and pairs have summered here.
None has nested, but Mr Oran O'Sullivan, general manager of the IWC, said with their population increasing annually in Scotland, colonisation was almost inevitable. "With the competition for breeding sites in Scotland growing more intense, young birds in particular may be inclined to seek new territory elsewhere", he said.
"The ospreys winter in west Africa and some stray on their return migration, increasing the likelihood of settlement in Ireland."
Ospreys build their nests on bare storm damaged tree tops, as easy access is essential for a large bird carrying fish. In Ireland, such nest sites are uncommon, being confined to scattered old pines and the woodlands associated with old estates.
To encourage ospreys to establish themselves, the IWC is building artificial nests on the tops of suitably tall trees at likely locations (tree lined lakes, often coastal, brimming with trout, bream, mullet or pike). This technique was successfully pioneered in Scotland, where more than one third of the osprey population is using artificial nest platforms.
Ospreys recolonised Scotland from Scandinavia in 1954, after an absence of almost 40 years. By last summer, the breeding population totalled 97 pairs and more than 500 young ospreys have fledged there since 1992. Viewing facilities at a nesting site on Loch Garten in the Highlands attract up to 60,000 visitors a year.
Mr O'Sullivan said the availability of clean, undisturbed fishing waters suggested Ireland could support many breeding ospreys. "However, suitable nest sites are not so readily available and this may be inhibiting prospecting pairs from breeding," he said.
The IWC's counterpart north of the Border, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, is also erecting a number of nest platforms.
The regional officer for Northern Ireland, Mr Bob Brown, said ospreys had been seen in Antrim, Down and Fermanagh. "It is not an unreasonable hope that within 10 years we'll have ospreys breeding here and that they'll spread throughout Ireland," he said.