Author: Larissa Smith

By Barb McKee, New Jersey Eagle Project Volunteer

August 1, 2021. It is raining and dreary out. Indoors all day wrapping up my end-of-season raptor time/mileage sheets, I have cabin fever! Tracking Duke for the last nine months has been educational and fun, and right now I know that he is nearby. For the last week he has been perching along the Raritan river–very close to my home and adjacent to his natal home, Duke Farms in Hillsborough. I have been too busy to spend as much time as I would like hiking and biking along the river nearby, while playing “hide and seek” with Duke! I check the internet link for today’s confirmation. Sure enough, Duke is perched in a wide-open field on Duke Farms land that I know well. It is only 4 miles away so I get in the car and head over there. Because it is raining, my chances of spotting him might be pretty good since eagles prefer not to fly in the rain, but rather remain on their perches without moving. He might still be there! I anticipate success. There he is! Right where I thought he would be. In a small grouping of trees in the middle of this large field there is one dead tree front and center, and Duke, fortunately, is perched on the dead tree, easily seen from the road. The photos are shot from about 100 yards away, in a light rain, but it is still a thrill to see him as it has been exactly two months since I last saw him on June 1st. blog post (Playing Hide and Seek with an Eagle)

On August 2, I learned that Duke had flown from that Duke Farms field back to the Delaware River and to Tohickon Creek where he spent the first week in August. As the second week began, his transmitter skipped 2 consecutive days of downloading data, but and when it finally did download, he had flown back to Duke Farms! In the coming days he seemed restless. He did not hunker down in one area, but appeared to be revisiting all of his haunts and hang-outs in central Jersey from the last nine months. He even went back to Tewksbury, flew very close to his winter “restaurant”, the game fowl pens at Flint Hill Hunting Preserve, and did a huge circle over Bedminster! He checked out Round Valley, the Black/Lamington River, Eagle Bend on the North Branch, and explored that river from Far Hills all the way to route 22. Then on August 30, a travel day again, he flew back to the Delaware! Again his transmitter did not connect with the satellite on the last day in August, but when it finally did connect, it was clear that his restlessness continued.

During the torrential rains of hurricane Ida, Duke finally hunkered down in PA on Neshaminy creek west of Washington Crossing in a rural area of woods and fields. He remained there until Sept. 6 when he flew back to the Delaware River and perched right near my Bulls Island nest. That is where he was on Sept 7. Then….his transmitter skipped three days of downloading! Finally, on Sept. 10, 72 hours of data downloaded and it showed he had been back on Tohickon Creek. This is a wild stream in a wooded gorge. There are some roads and houses here and there, but it is mostly rural–a good place for a young eagle. There would be plenty of places to perch and roost, and fish and small animals in and by the river to eat. But then, after 3:03:08 pm Eastern Daylight Time on September 10, his transmitter went dark!

My adventures with Duke started exactly a year ago today! blog post (Duke’s Homecoming) I learned he can hold his own against competition for food, aggressively steal from lesser raptors, find small rodents, reptiles and other prey in the smallest of creeks and valleys, fly beautifully and roost safely during rain, wind and snow. I have watched him thrive as an independent eagle in the wild, and although I sometimes worried about his choice of perches and food sources, I believe he has a great chance of reaching maturity and, in about 2 years, with his head and tail feathers mostly white, find a territory he likes and a mate with whom to build a nest. I miss knowing where he has been and miss our games of hide and seek. It has been 57 days since his last data download. I trust from the information on the site that his solar battery has failed and that Duke himself has not failed! During the coming winter I will be searching all the places I know he preferred. I believe eagles are creatures of habit. As I watched him travel around, sometimes all the way to the Chesapeake and back, I am sure that he used his eagle eyes to spot landmarks which are his “road maps” when he travels. I have plenty of reason to believe that he will return to his favorite roosts and hang out and I will have my eyes open, still searching for him. My sincere hope is that I, or someone else, will someday catch a photo of him with his E/88 band easily readable!

In the meantime, soar safely Duke, fly high and free.

• 

• 

• 

• Blog post: Duke’s Homecoming
• Blog post: Playing Hide and Seek with an Eagle
• New Jersey Eagle Trax

By: Larissa Smith, CWF biologist

The 2021 New Jersey eagle nesting season was another good year for NJ’s eagle population. The final numbers and details will be available in the 2021 Annual Bald Eagle report published in December. There are over 100 eagle project volunteers who monitor eagle nests/s during the season. They are an extremely dedicated group who not only monitor eagle nests but help to protect the nests. Volunteers become familiar with their pairs and get to witness all kinds of eagle (and other wildlife) activity. I asked the volunteers to send me their one favorite photo from this season.

Continue reading “The 2021 NJ Eagle Nesting Season in photos”

By: CWF biologist Larissa Smith

This is the second year that the NJ Endangered & Nongame Species program along with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ have set up a “soft release” area for juvenile eagles that were found grounded and cared for at Rehabilitation centers. The site is in a remote area of Cumberland County where staff and volunteers provide supplemental food (fish and road-killed mammals) in a safe place, and where other juvenile and sub-adult eagles would provide the social learning they needed. Trail cameras were installed to document eagle use. 

Continue reading “Eagles, Vultures and a Kitten”

by: Larissa Smith, CWF biologist

This eagle nesting season we have been following the story of the Three Bridges eagle pair in a blog series. A camera on the nest allowed viewers to get an up-close view of the nesting activities. The pair successfully raised two chicks, who biologists banded (green bands H/04 & H/05), and they fledged the end of June.

On July 4th, eagle H/05, was found injured near the nest. He was taken to The Raptor Trust where he was treated for a fracture of the left coracoid bone, which supports powered flight in the wing. He remained in the care of The Raptor Trust until he was fully healed and had regained some of his flight strength.

Three Bridges nest monitors continued to observe the nest area and determined that the adults and H/04 were still around the nest platform. In a very quick and quiet manner, H/05 was released back at the nest site last past week. It was necessary to have adults in the area, so he can continue his post-fledging period with them, learning to hunt and survive on his own.

Since his release, H/05 has been seen flying and perching in the nest area. It is very important for people to view the nest platform from a distance and not approach the nest tower or any eagles perched in the area. We all need to keep this nest area “eagle-safe” for the next month, giving H/05 and his family time to reacquaint and re-learn eagle skills! We thank everyone who has supported this eagle family.

• Read the Three Bridges Blog Series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 & Part 6.
• Three Bridges Eagle Cam
• Donate to the NJ Eagle Project

by: Larissa Smith, biologist

“Jersey Girl” is a NJ banded eagle (B/64). She was reported to us in 2014 by Linda Oughton, who has been keeping track of her and her mate since 2010. They nest is in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. B/64 was banded in 2004 at a nest in Cumberland County NJ, located along the Cohansey River. ‘Jersey Girl” is seventeen years old.

Continue reading ““Jersey Girl”: 2021 Update”

by: Larissa Smith, CWF Wildlife Biologist

I started writing the Three Bridges blog series at the end of November 2020. At the time we had no idea if the eagle pair would return to the newly installed nest box, nest somewhere else or nest at all this season. In the last blog post Part 5, the eggs had hatched. Since that last blog a lot has happened at the nest. On April 2nd nest monitors determined that hatching was occurring and on April 14th it was determined that there were two chicks. On May 14th, the nest was visited by PSE&G and NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program. The chicks were banded with silver federal bands and green NJ bands H/04 and H/05. Both chicks were determined to be males. During the nest visit the camera was fixed and a whole new close up view of the nest appeared.

Cam viewers got to watch the young eagles as they learned to feed themselves and started preparing their wing muscles for flight, by flapping and hopping around the nest. When eagles are nesting in a tree the young will perch on branches which is called “branching”. In this case the chicks don’t have any branches, so the perches were built as substitute branches. Nest monitor, Mary Ellen Hill, got the below screen shot of one of the chicks perched for the first time. The young eagles also used the metal arm of the pole for perching.

On June 20th, H/04 took his first flight and his brother H/05 followed on June 22, all of which was caught on camera. Eagle Project volunteer Diane Wilson Cook has made a webpage, Bald Eagles at Three Bridges with the video clips from these flights. The fledges have been returning to the nest platform since fledging. The parent’s are still bringing food to the nest for the young eagles as they will be in the nest area for the next few weeks as they learn to hunt and survive on their own.

Learn More

• Read blog posts about this project: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 & Part 5
• For updates on the Three Bridges pair see the Three Bridges web page.

By Barbara McKee, NJ Eagle Project Volunteer

Seven months ago, I learned that “Duke” had flown back to Somerset County in central Jersey, and was perched along the Raritan River not far upstream of his natal nest at Duke Farms.  He was also very close to my home on the Millstone River in Hillsborough.  Thus began my shared adventure with Duke, the 2019 fledgling who was outfitted with a satellite transmitter at banding (E/88) that May. I wrote a CWF blog, “Duke’s” Homecoming in January about those months during the fall and winter, of following and photographing Duke as he explored areas I knew well from bicycling and volunteering for the Eagle Project. I am very grateful and humble to have “found” Duke on quite a few occasions throughout November, December, and January.  The trees were bare of leaves, and Duke’s full attention was on keeping himself fed.  I gradually learned his habits and noted he tended to stick with several favorite roosts, perches, and hang-outs!  It took patience, persistence, and a lot of luck! January 19, 2021, was the last time I saw Duke reasonably close, photographed and videographed him on a field in Hillsborough owned by Duke Farms.  

Following that frigid, breezy, gray day in mid-winter, January 19, Duke headed north to Tewksbury where he spent most of his time on large, private farms and estates not conducive to allowing access to a wandering, eagle-watching, trespassing photographer!  I could imagine he was finding prey in the fields, along the creeks, and in the occasional farm pond.  I took many photos of bucolic scenery to share with others who were interested in Duke’s travels. At the end of January, central Jersey got snow storms which dumped an estimated accumulation of more than 2 feet of snow on the ground.  Animals seemed to vanish.  Even road kill was scarce.  I worried that Duke would starve….that is, until while scrutinizing Google Earth, I realized he had settled on a hunting preserve that raised game fowl!  He simply perched near the pens, let the hawk do the hunting, and no doubt “stole” from the smaller raptors!  I stopped being so worried! For the entire snow-covered month of February, and half of March, Duke remained in Tewksbury.  A couple times he dashed back to Duke Farms (approximately 20 miles to the south) and the Raritan River nearby.  On one of those quick visits to his natal “home” he even visited me, perching again near our landing on the Millstone and downstream near the confluence with the main Raritan. 

Continue reading “Playing Hide and Seek with an Eagle”

By: Larissa Smith, CWF Wildlife Biologist

There are many aspects to the Delaware Bay Shorebird Project. During the month of May researchers survey, re-sight and band shorebirds as well as conduct horseshoe crab egg counts. Nine beaches in Cape May and Cumberland Counties have restricted access during May, which allows the shorebirds to feed on the horseshoe crab eggs.

Shorebird stewards are out on the beaches in all types of weather and insect seasons making sure that the restricted areas are respected. They do this through education and explaining to beach goers the importance of allowing shorebirds to have these undisturbed areas to feed. Stewards really make a big difference in shorebird protection on the bay and we thank them for all of their efforts this shorebird season. This season there were plenty of horseshoe crabs spawning with eggs in abundance, but unfortunately the shorebird numbers were down this season. For more details on the 2021 Shorebird season can be found in the article ,Red knot numbers plummet, pushing shorebird closer to extinction.

• 

• 

• 

• 

by: Larissa Smith, CWF biologist

In part 4 of this blog series the Three Bridges eagle pair had returned to the newly installed nest platform. We are happy to report that incubation began on February 24th.

Nest monitors have reported that hatching was occurring on April 2nd. Since nest monitors can’t see into the nest they go by the adults behavior to indicate hatching. The adult will start sitting higher on the nest, looking down more often and moving around. The eggs hatch in the order in which they were laid, so there could be a chick, while the adult continues to incubate any remaining eggs. The adults will feed the chick and a steady supply of food will be brought into the nest. Unfortunately the cam is currently not operational. It will require access to the pole to diagnosis the problem. A visit isn’t possible at this point, due to the nesting pair.

• Read blog posts about this project: Blog 1, Blog 2, Blog 3 & Blog 4
• For updates on the Three Bridges pair see the Three Bridges web page.

By: Larissa Smith, CWF Wildlife Biologist

The drama continues at the Three Bridges eagle nest. When I last wrote about this pair in part 3 of the blog series, they were busy working on a nest in a tree and had not been sighted at the newly installed tower with the nest platform. Eagle Project nest monitors have been keeping a close eye on both the new tree nest and the platform. The pair had been busy bringing sticks to the tree nest.

This past week nest monitors saw a pair of eagles on the transmission towers and mating on the platform! The volunteer’s have been trying to figure out if this is one pair or two separate pairs. On February 12th, a pair was seen at the tree nest and in the afternoon a pair was seen on the nesting platform, mating. Since then eagles have been sighted at both the nest tree and the nest platform.

It isn’t uncommon for eagle pairs to build more then one nest and perhaps the Three Bridges pair is deciding which nest to use. But the possibility remains that there could be a second pair in the area. The Three Bridges pair laid their eggs on February 23rd last nesting season, so they should start incubation in the next week or two. Dedicated nest monitors will closely monitor the situation to see which nest is used and when eggs are laid.

• Duke Farms Eagle Cam
• NJ Bald Eagle Project
• Blog post: Part 1: An eagle nest removed
• Blog post: Part 2: An eagle nest reinstalled
• Blog post: Part 3: Where are the Three Bridges Eagles Nesting