Duke Farms 2014 Alumni Sighted

by CWF Senior Biologist, Larissa Smith

On September 28th a bald eagle with a green band was reported in the Princeton area and again on October 5th, by Susan VanderKam.  The code on the band was D99 an eagle who fledged from the 2014 Duke Farms nest.  In 2014 the Duke Farms pair raised and fledged three eaglets while being viewed by thousands of people on the eagle cam. The eaglets were banded by state biologists at six weeks of age.  D99 a male and the youngest, D98 a male and the second youngest and a female, EOO who was the oldest eaglet. They all fledged in June, 2014.

On August 25th, 2014,  D98 was found dead in Little Sebago, Maine. For more details on what occurred prior to his death see the  blog post.   E00 the only female has been resighted once and that was on the Duke Farm eagle cam.  On February 20th, 2018 as a four year old eagle she returned to her natal nest, while the Duke Farms pair was incubating. The female eventually chased her away.

D99 has been resighted several times since fledging. He was seen in January 2019 at Mercer Lakes

In January 2021 he was seen feeding on a deer carcass in Monmouth County.

D99 is now 11 years old and is most likely in a breeding pair and nesting. On September 28th he was perched in a tree with another eagle.  Perhaps this is his mate? It would be very exciting to know that he is nesting and we’ll keep you updated.