by Larissa Smith Senior Wildlife Biologist Posted on
Two adorable fluffy chicks have hatched live on the Duke Farms Eagle Cam. There is a pip in the third egg, so the third chick should hatch very soon. Thanks to Duke Farms and staff who host, fund and maintain this cam. The cam is new for the 2025 season and now has audio which allows you to hear the chicks peeping and adults calling. The clarity of the new cam is top notch.
by Larissa Smith Senior Wildlife Biologist Posted on
photo credit: Diane Cook
The New Jersey Annual Bald Eagle Project report has been published by NJDEP Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program and The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ. The NJ bald eagle nesting population continues to increase. Two hundred ninety-three nest sites were monitored, of which, a record 264 were documented to be active (with eggs) and 29 were territorial or “housekeeping” pairs. In total, there were 288 fledglings resulting in a productivity rate of 1.2 young per active nest.
by Larissa Smith Senior Wildlife Biologist Posted on
December 15th, 2024 Clinton pair@ Linda Rapacki
It’s a good time of year to see bald eagles in New Jersey. Many of New Jersey’s resident pairs are back at their nests, getting them ready for the 2025 nesting season. Though the majority of pairs won’t start incubating until February, there are always a few “early bird” pairs that start laying eggs in January.
In addition to the nesting pairs there are immature eagles (those that aren’t yet five years of age and sexually mature) and wintering eagles that come to New Jersey from areas where it’s much colder and the water has frozen. A good spot to find eagles is around water supplies that aren’t frozen solid such as rivers and the Delaware Bay. Here are some photos taken by NJ Eagle Project volunteers in November and December of 2024.
2024 Eagle Project Get-together; photo by: Kathy Clark
We can never thank the NJ Eagle Project volunteers enough for all they do to monitor and protect eagles in New Jersey. Conserve Wildlife Foundation hosted a get-together at the Assunpink Conservation Center this August as a way to say, “thank you”. There are 162 eagle project volunteers currently monitoring eagle nests statewide and it’s not always easy to get everyone together at one time due to distance and obligations. The volunteers who were able to attend shared stories with other volunteers about the nesting season, received an update on the proposed eagle delisting from ENSP Chief, Kathy Clark and hopefully felt very appreciated. This is down time for the eagle project volunteers, though some eagles are already back and working on their nests. THANK YOU to all the Eagle Project Volunteers.
photo by Don TorinoPhoto by Susan Harrisonphoto by Susan Harrison
The Bald Eagle project would not be possible without our corporate partners. We would like to thank PSE&G, Wakefern/ShopRite Stores, Wells Fargo Advisors, and the Cape May County Zoo (AAZK) for providing crucial financial and outreach resources to help keep bald eagles soaring above New Jersey.
H54 final release, August 1st, 2024, photo by Rich Nicol
As any NJ Eagle Project nest monitor will tell you, we go through many emotions during the nesting season. The first time of the season that you spot the eagle pair on the nest is exhilarating because you know at least they are back. Then comes the “will they or won’t they nest stage”, where every time you go to the nest your heart drops if you don’t see the eagles. The feeling you get when they are sitting low in the nest and you know they have laid eggs is like your fist pumping the sky. However, there are times that seriously try you. There is nothing like the gut punch of seeing a nest tree that fell over after a storm or an abandoned nest sitting empty. We have to be even-keeled, but emotions boil over sometimes and the loss of a nest can really make you rethink why you are a nest monitor at all. The eagles you watch become family, and you feel great joy when the nestlings turn into fledglings and take to the skies, although you had no part in it, you feel pride nonetheless in their success. This brings us to this story of a rather precocious male nestling who defied all the odds.
The 2024 NJ Bald eagle nesting season is winding down and so far 221 young eagles have fledged from nests throughout the state. We know that these eagles have fledged due to the eagle project volunteers who monitor all known eagle nests in New Jersey. Being a nest monitor can be a joyful experience when all goes well and the pairs successfully fledge young. But, it can also be heartbreaking when a pair fails to hatch eggs and when adults or chicks are lost during the season. Despite the ups and downs of monitoring eagle nests the volunteers continue to be dedicated to the eagle project. I asked the Eagle Project volunteers to send me their two favorite photos from the season.
Please enjoy the slideshow.
All photos were taken by trained volunteers from a safe distance using high powered scopes and cameras.
During the 2020 NJ Bald Eagle nesting season the Camden B pair hatched and raised two chicks. This nest was located along the Cooper River, in Camden County on a small parcel of undeveloped land in a very urban area.
Camden B eagle nest with 6 week old chicks May 14, 2020: photo by: Marilyn Henry
On June 5, we received notification that the nest had fallen from the tree during a storm, at that time the two chicks were approximately nine weeks old. They were too young to fly since eagle don’t fledge until at least 11 weeks of age. At nine weeks of age they are the size of an adult eagle so they would be noticeable on the ground. Despite an extensive search by staff and volunteers there were no signs of the two nestlings.
Fallen Camden B nest, June 8, 2020
Local wildlife rehab centers were notified in case the young eagles were found and brought in for care. At that point we could only speculate on their fate. Then on June 28, NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife Law Enforcement was alerted to eagles being held in a dog pen at a residence in Camden. NJDFW Conservation Officers visited the home and found the two missing eagle chicks. At this point the young eagles were twelve weeks old and should have fledged if they were still in the nest.
Camden eagles in dog pen; June 28th, 2020: photo K. Clark
The eagles had been kept in the basement and fed hotdogs and chicken. Fortunately for the chicks they were moved outside and an alert citizen reported the captive eagles. They were taken to Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research for evaluation and treatment. After a week in rehab it was determined that they were healthy enough to be released. By this time the adults were no longer actively in the area of the nest tree. After eagle chicks fledge they still spend a few weeks in the nest area with the adults, learning to survive on their own. It was decided to release the two eagles in a remote area of Cumberland County. On July 9 the two Camden eagles were released at the site.
E/96 & E/97 at release, Diving Creek Cumberland County
Staff and volunteers temporarily provided supplemental food (fish and road-killed mammals). The release area has a large population of juvenile and sub-adult eagles who could provide the social learning the young eagles needed. A trail camera was set up at the food drop. E/97 wasn’t seen again at the release site. Her sibling, E/96 was seen in the area several times after her release.
On March 18th, 2024, Kathy Clark with NJENSP received an email from Jerry amEnde regarding a green banded eagle he photographed at Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware.
The banded eagle was E/97! We are thrilled to know that despite her not having a “traditional” start to her life, she has to survived to become a gorgeous four year old eagle.
“Jersey Girl” (in rear) and mate 2024 photo by: Linda Oughton
One of my favorite things about working with the NJ Eagle Project is when we receive resighting’s of New Jersey banded eagles. Especially when that eagle is in a pair and nesting. One eagle that we’ve been following over the years, is fondly named “Jersey Girl” due to her NJ origins. She was reported to us in 2014 by Linda Oughton, who has been keeping track of her and her mate since 2010.
“Jersey Girl” showing bands; photo by Linda Oughton
Jersey Girl and her mate nest in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She was one of three chicks banded May 10th 2004 at the Hopewell West, nest which is located in Cumberland County along the Cohansey River. She was banded with green band B-64. That means that this May “Jersey Girl” will be twenty years old!
Since 2010 the pair has successfully raised and fledged a total of 20 young eagles. The pair is not yet incubating this season and Linda reports that they usually start on Valentine’s Day. The pair is well loved by neighbors and people who walk along the Perkiomen Creek, where the pair often fishes.
It’s so wonderful to know that an eagle I helped band almost 20 years ago has survived and raised 20 chicks of her own.
“Jersey Girl’s” nest; photo taken from road by Linda Oughton.
The NJDEP Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey have published the New Jersey Bald Eagle Project, 2023. The NJ eagle population continues to thrive. During the 2023 nesting season, 286 nest sites were monitored of these 255 pairs were active (laid eggs). This is a slight increase of 5 active nests from 2022. This season 309 young eagles were documented to have fledged, this number is a down from 2022’s high of 335 young fledged. The productivity rate of 1.28 young per active nest is above the 1.0 young per nest needed for population maintenance.
Fifty-four nest failed to fledge young this season, this means that the pair laid eggs, but the eggs failed to hatch or the chicks did not make it to fledging. There could be many reasons for nest failure including weather events, nest/tree collapse, disturbance by humans or intruder eagles. The NJ eagle population is doing well but they still need monitoring and protection. There is constant pressure for development in NJ and if we don’t know about a nest we can’t help to protect it. Eagles are nesting in all 21 NJ counties, from remote marshes in southern New Jersey to suburban neighborhoods. How the ENSP and CWF protects these nests is on a nest by nest basis. We couldn’t do this without the dedicated group of 150 NJ Eagle Project volunteers who not only monitor the eagle nests, but help minimize disturbance to nests by educating the public about NJ’s eagle population.
Forsythe NWR, eagles fight over prey, 12/16/23 photo by Rich Nicol
The 2024 NJ Bald Eagle season is underway with eight pairs currently incubating. A great way to see what goes on in an eagles nest is to watch the Duke Farms eagle cam. The female should be laying the first egg any day now.
We’d like to thank all the volunteers, sponsors, donors and friends of the NJ Eagle Project
The Three Bridges eagle cam went live for the 2024 nesting season on December 1st. A pair of eagles made an appearance that morning. The Three Bridges nesting platform was used by eagles in 2021, when they successfully raised two young. During the 2022 and 2023 nesting seasons, the pair were seen at the nest platform but ended up using a nest in a tree. We will see if the pair decides to use the nest platform this season. For now we believe that the Three Bridges pairs territory is both the nest tree and platform. As the numbers of nesting Bald Eagles continues to increase New Jersey there is the possibility that a second eagle pair could nest at the platform. Last nesting season there was lots of eagle action at the tower, eagles of all ages stopped by along with many different avian species. A pair of Osprey’s took interest in the nest platform but didn’t end up laying eggs. An American Kestrel perched at the platform on the first day the cam was live. It’ll be interesting to see what activity occurs at the tower this season.
