OSPREY BIRDS ARE expected to be reintroduced into Ireland this summer. 

Minister of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien confirmed plans of the reintroduction of the bird. 

Answering a parliamentary question last week regarding the reintroduction of species into Ireland, O’Brien said that “the NPWS (National Parks and Wildlife Service) plans to reintroduce Osprey this year”. 

He said the NPWS is “collaborating with colleagues in Norway to supply a small number of chicks to be released in the south eastern part of Ireland during the summer months”. 

In a tweet yesterday, the Irish Wildlife Trust said it is “thrilled to hear that NPWS are planning to reintroduce ospreys to Irish skies this summer”. 

The osprey has a wing span of between five and six feet. 

The National Geographic says “ospreys are sometimes confused with bald eagles, but can be identified by their white underparts”. 

“Their white heads also have a distinctive black eyestripe that goes down the side of their face. Eagles and ospreys frequent similar habitats and sometimes battle for food,” it says.