Cork's Fota Wildlife Park seeks permission for major redevelopment of bird habitats

Visitors to Fota Wildlife Park could soon enjoy larger and improved habitats for two of its best-known bird species under plans lodged with Cork County Council.

The park has applied for permission to replace its existing flamingo and white-tailed sea eagle aviaries with larger enclosures alongside new visitor viewing areas, boardwalks, and walking paths as part of a major redevelopment of the attraction’s bird habitats.

The proposal includes demolishing the existing flamingo shed, flamingo aviary, and sea eagle aviary before constructing a new 76sq m sea eagle shed, a 51.9sq m flamingo shed, a 1,390sq m sea eagle aviary and a 659sq m flamingo aviary.

The new sea eagle enclosure will include nest platforms and an enclosed overhead flight connection area, while the flamingo aviary will feature an open-mesh roof designed to provide a larger flight space.

Plans also include regrading land across the site, modifying existing lakes, constructing a new boardwalk and internal pathways, together with two visitor viewing vestibules, three keeper vestibules and three viewing trellises.

The investment will benefit two species with important conservation stories. 

The white-tailed sea eagle, Europe’s largest bird of prey with a wingspan of up to 2.5m, became extinct in Ireland in 1901 before being successfully reintroduced through a programme centred on Killarney National Park.

Fota Wildlife Park has been involved in the recovery effort since 1991 and has bred five white-tailed sea eagle chicks, with the aim of continuing to support the species’ return to the wild.

The park’s Chilean flamingo flock is also of conservation significance. 

The species is listed as near threatened in the wild, where populations face pressures from habitat loss, hunting, and egg collection. 

At Fota, the birds are kept in a saltwater habitat supplied from Cork Harbour, closely replicating the shallow coastal wetlands they naturally inhabit in South America.

Because the site lies close to the Cork Harbour Special Protection Area and the Great Island Channel Special Area of Conservation, a Natura Impact Statement has been submitted with the planning application. 

It concludes that the assessment is required because of the potential for temporary disturbance to nearby protected habitats and bird species during the construction phase.

Submissions or observations on the application can be made to Cork County Council until July 22.