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Ireland opens its largest falconry centre
 Following
a series of successful schemes to reintroduce birds of prey into the Irish
wilderness, Ireland has now officially opened its largest falconry centre.
The centre is the next stage of an ambitious plan to reintroduce the country’s
previously extinct birds of prey back to the wild.
And giant white-tailed sea eagles, endangered owls, falcons, Harris hawks
and American kestrels will be on display at the new project at Aillwee
Cave in Co. Clare.
The centre hopes to link-up with conservation schemes including the white-tailed
sea eagle release programme in Kerry and the red kite project in central
and eastern Ireland, whose reintroductions followed the return of golden
eagles to Donegal when a pair successfully bred earlier this year.
Aillwee Caves marketing manager Barbara Faulkner said the centre will
provide a new and innovative tourism product in North Clare and should
further encourage visitors to stay for longer periods of time in the region.
She said: “We anticipate that this project will attract a different
sector of the tourist market and raise the profile of the Burren and the
region from an environmental, educational and conservational viewpoint.”
The Burren Birds of Prey Centre will house birds that cannot be seen anywhere
else in the country.
And trainers hope to put on hunting and flying displays with eagles and
falcons making solo trips from Aillwee Mountain back to the centre, allowing
people to watch the birds in free flight.
They will also be able to see the ancient art of falconry at first hand,
which is thought to be the oldest sport in the world originating in the
Far East around 2000BC.
During the breeding season visitors will be able to see young birds of
prey being hand reared, while there will also be educational projects
to make people more aware of indigenous species and the environmental
issues involved in their protection and conservation.
The project is being managed by experienced bird of prey handlers Darren
Reddington and Ben Johnson. |
