Largest bird of prey species in Ireland spotted flying over Kilkenny
A white-tailed eagle born in Cork has completed an extraordinary journey across 26 counties — including a dramatic flyover of Kilkenny
Earlier this month, a white-tailed eagle named ‘Aspen’ that fledged from a nest in Cork in 2025 completed what has been described as ‘an amazing grand tour of Ireland’ and was satellite tagged flying through the skies in South Kilkenny.
According to Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve, “she started her journey on the March 22” and during her circuit she travelled though 26 counties.
These counties included Kerry, Cork, Tipperary, Waterford, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Kildare, Dublin, Meath, Louth, Monaghan, Armagh, Down, Tyrone, Derry, Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Fermanagh, Cavan, Roscommon, Galway, Clare and Limerick.
The white-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey species in Ireland and the journey made by Aspen speaks for the success of the eagle reintroduction programme that started in the country back in 2007.
The species actually has a rich history and legacy on the island but was shot out and poisoned in the 19th Century.
Research suggests the last pair bred on the coast of Mayo in 1912. One hundred years later, five years into the reintroduction programme, the first white-tailed eagle breeding pair since 1912 nested on Lough Derg.
Despite some recent instances of poisonings, the current population of white-tailed eagles in Ireland is believed to be healthy enough to sustain itself into the future.