Glengarriff eagle chick named

THE name  of Glengarriff’s first female eagle chick was suggested by the Norwegian Embassy in Dublin, writes Jackie Keogh.

The eagle has been named Sunniva after Norway’s first female saint who also happened to be an Irish-born princess! Conservation ranger Clare Heardman confirmed that the name was chosen after considering nearly 500 suggestions from people who have been following the eagle’s progress on the National Parks and Wildlife service’s live-streaming webcam.

The actual meaning of the name – which is pronounced sun-ava – is ‘gift of the sun’ and Clare said, ‘It nicely reflects her Irish-Norwegian heritage.’

Both of Sunniva’s parents were Norwegian, having been brought to Ireland in 2010 and 2011 as part of the white-tailed sea eagle reintroduction programme.

Although this is West Cork’s first female chick, Sunniva is, in fact, one of a total of 31 chicks to fledge in Ireland since the start of the reintroduction programme.