by Barbara McKee, NJ Eagle Project Volunteer
A year ago November I began tracking Duke. I was fortunate to see and photograph him more than a dozen times and wrote two blogs for CWF about these adventures.
See “Duke’s Homecoming” and “Playing Hide and Seek with an Eagle”.
Continue reading “Found! Duke’s Tracker Reboots”by Larissa Smith, CWF biologist
We are happy to announce that the Three Bridges Eagle Cam will go live on December 15th. This fall, the nesting platform atop the transmission tower received some improvements from PSE&G. The perches were moved for a better camera view and replaced with wood to provide better perches for the adults and a second wooden perch was added along one of the sides. A foam baffle was added to the microphone to help buffer wind noise. These improvements will make the platform better for the eagles as well as enhance the viewing experience.
Continue reading “A New Season of Wonder at Three Bridges Eagle Cam”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.
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
This past week I had the pleasure of assisting Supervising Zoologist, Kathy Clark with NJ Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program to install a new nestbox for state endangered peregrine falcons. The new nestbox was installed atop the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel. Peregrine falcons are not new to Atlantic City. They have nested in A.C. since 1987, where the first pair nested on the 23rd floor of the Hilton/Atlantic Club. Since then new pairs have established nests on other tall buildings and structures, like the Hard Rock Casino and A.C. water tower.
Continue reading “Photos from the Field: Falcons rule the roost at Sheraton Hotel in AC”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”
The Board of Trustees of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Liz Silvernail to Executive Director. In this role, Silvernail will guide the organization in its work to preserve rare and at-risk wildlife in New Jersey through field science, habitat restoration, public engagement, and education.
“I am honored to have this opportunity to lead CWF as executive director,” said Silvernail. “With the support of our dedicated and hard-working biologists, the leadership of our board, and the commitment of our supporters and volunteers, we’re ready to take on the daunting challenges facing our rare wildlife and the habitats on which they depend.”
A part of CWF for nearly 12 years, Silvernail was most recently Acting Executive Director. Previously, she was Director of Development where she formed strong corporate and donor partnerships to build organizational capacity and impact. Through her leadership, CWF developed and implemented highly successful STEAM educational programs throughout New Jersey schools as well as the annual Women & Wildlife Awards and a host of outreach initiatives to promote public awareness of at-risk wildlife.
“Liz is uniquely qualified to lead CWF in the implementation of our strategic plan,” stated Steve Neumann, President of the Board of Trustees for CWF. “Her passion for environmental causes, depth of experience, vision and collaborative approach will be instrumental in our partnerships and donor support.”
Silvernail brings over 30 years of non-profit experience to the role. Prior to joining CWF, she championed environmental advocacy for both Scenic Hudson and NJ Keep it Green. A graduate of Boston College, she serves on the board of EarthShare New Jersey and has volunteered with the Garden Club of America, Junior League of Greater Princeton, and Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.
Amy Greene of Amy Greene Environmental and a CWF Trustee offered, “Liz’s deep understanding of the organization’s mission, her strong relationship with CWF and NJDEP staff and donors, her commitment to restoring New Jersey’s rare species populations, and her compassion for educating its human inhabitants about the importance of rare species protection makes her a natural to lead CWF to continue to help New Jersey’s most threatened wildlife thrive.”
>> Learn more about Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
By far, this was the most viewed season of the Barnegat Light Osprey Cam, with over 360,000 views and 111,000 hours watched! It was a season of change. Viewers throughout the world watched as the mated pair successfully fledged two healthy young. We witnessed the trials and tribulations of a new pair, especially the female, who we believe attempted reproduction for the first time in her life. We saw that life as a young osprey was not always guaranteed, which is something we rarely get to witness but know is quite common at many nests throughout the world; however, with an experienced male and plentiful prey, the surviving young thrived. As we work on a season long highlight video, here is a brief summary of their nesting season.
Continue reading “Two are sometimes better than three”A couple weeks ago colleagues with NJ Fish & Wildlife shared a video clip of a dark osprey who landed on a nest platform along the Maurice River near Leesburg, NJ. “Looks like an oiled bird” the text read. Indeed it looked like the bird was exposed to some form of petroleum product, which stained its feathers a dark color. At the time, there was no oil spill reported to NJDEP (this was on May 10) and the video shows that the bird was observed on the nest on May 1, 2021.
Just imagine having to defend your home from an invader who wants to steal your home and mate. All you have to protect yourself and home are your bare hands (or talons). You fought this same battle several years ago and staked your claim here. It was a hard won battle that could have been the end.
Continue reading “Survival of the Fittest Falcons”