by Nora DiChiara, Duke Farms Director of Programs and Strategic Planning
There is a new female Bald Eagle in the Duke Farms nest. If you’ve been counting, this is the third female to occupy the nest at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey. Our nearly 20-year-old male, resident serial monogamist Bald Eagle has sired over 25 bald eagle chicks since the nest creation in 2004.
Duke Farms female November 22, 2019 screen shot taken by Diane Cook
Bald Eagles all over New Jersey are starting to work on their nests for the upcoming nesting season. The next few months are a good time to get outdoors and spot eagles. Wintering eagles will be in NJ during the next few months as well as the NJ nesting pairs. You can also keep an eye on eagles from the comfort and warmth of your home via eagle cams on the CWF website.
by Marissa Murdock, 2019 NJ Osprey Project Intern; Rider University ’21
Marissa holds osprey 83/K who was banded after pre-maturely fledging and landing on the ground.
This past summer I was lucky enough to work with Conserve Wildlife Foundation as a volunteer student intern. I worked alongside Ben Wurst, CWF’s Habitat Program Manager, helping with the New Jersey Osprey Project. My internship consisted of assisting with osprey surveys, banding young, and recording data so that we can estimate the health of the population in New Jersey.
May 25th, 2019. Duke getting fitted with transmitter
A transmitter was placed on a chick from the Duke Farms Eagle Cam nest for the first time this year. This nest cam has been watched by thousands of people over the years and now cam watchers will be able to follow the movements of “Duke” after fledging.
January 13, 2019, Mercer County Park. NJ D/99banded at Duke Farms in 2014 @Bob Cook
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ in partnership with the
NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered & Nongame Species Program, is
releasing results of the 2019 NJ Bald Eagle nesting season.
2019 was a record year for NJ eagles with the highest number
of active nests and young fledged in the history of the project. This year, 238 eagle nests were monitored, of
which 189 were active (laid eggs) and 248 young fledged. This is the highest number of fledges ever,
surpassing the previous high of 216 in 2016.
Bald eagle nesting population and young produced in New Jersey, 1982-2019.
We owe the incredible amount of information about NJ eagle success
to the NJ Eagle Project nest watchers. An
extremely dedicated group of approximately 85 volunteers monitor nests during
the season, recording the important dates and watching for possible issues at
nest sites.
This season two eagle cams were available to watch on the CWF website: one at Duke Farms and another at Mercer County Parks. The Duke Farms nest produced two chicks, and one was outfitted with a satellite transmitter; the movements of this eagle are on CWF’s Eagletrax website .
More details on the 2019 nesting season will be available in
the annual eagle report to be posted by December. The report will include individual nest data, state
totals, and eagle recoveries and resightings.
CWF partners with PSEG, the Mercer County Park Commission, Mercer County Wildlife Center, and Wildlife Center Friends and Duke Farms to protect bald eagles in New Jersey. Thank you to the Wakefern Food Corp./ShopRite Markets, Wells Fargo, Chemours and the American Eagle Foundation for additional eagle program funding.
On the last osprey survey of the season we stumbled upon a new nest — one that was built on an abandoned crab pot. We were drifting on Absecon Bay when summarizing data when we heard an adult making defensive calls at a nest. We looked and saw a low nest on the ground.Continue reading “Photos from the Field: Ospreys Nest on Abandoned Crab Pot”
The breeding season started off well enough for the peregrine
family that star on our Falcon Cam in Jersey City this year. Four eggs were
laid, three sisters hatched, were banded and were growing up high atop the
skyscraper at 101 Hudson Street. Thousands of viewers enjoyed seeing them
flapping and jumping, strengthening their flight muscles for their first flight
to fledge from the nest.
PSE&G, Conserve Wildlife Foundation, Mercer County Park Commission, Mercer County Wildlife Center and Wildlife Center Friends team up with free public programs on Bald Eagles, pollinators, and bats.
Bald eagle fishing in Mercer Lake. Photo by Mercer County Park Commission.
Join us on August 8th at the Mercer County Wildlife Center to learn about pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths and how they help keep flowers in bloom and food on your plate.
Eagle enthusiasts in New Jersey have plenty to celebrate
today on National Bald Eagle Day. Thanks to our dedicated Bald
Eagle Project volunteers we know that so far this year 96 bald eagles have
fledged from their New Jersey nests! Eagles have come a long way in the Garden
State since the early 1980s when there was only one active nest in the whole state.
Two sets of peregrine falcon chicks were recently banded high atop buildings in Elizabeth, Union County, and Jersey City. Biologists from Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) checked the health and measurements of the falcons, while also placing both United States Geological Service bird bands and state auxiliary bands so the birds can be identified in the future.
