The birth of a white tailed eagle chick has been announced in Mountshannon.
It's part of a re-introduction programme and follows the shooting of one of the species in March.
The white tagled eagle pair has battled storm darwin and recent severe thunder storms to hatch the chick on an island at Mountshannon and get it successfully through the first few weeks of life.
It's the third successful breeding in the programme however one of the birds was shot and killed in March of this year.
The new addition appears to have settled in the Lough Derg area, where the birds have been based up until this point.
Dr Allan Mee, Project Manager of the White-tail Sea Eagle Reintroduction Programme, says the parents seem determined to protect the little one.
Denis Minogue of the Mountshannon Community Council says locals are delighted with this latest development.
While the Minister for the Arts Heritage and Gaeltecht Jimmy Deenihan is also welcoming the news. He says the killing in March was a dark day for the project and this marks a new opportunity for the public to view the birds of prey.
Dr Allen Mee says it's a huge boost to their efforts.
In a bid to protect the young chick the exact island on which it's been hatched isn't being released.
