Blog written by Eagle Project volunteer, Frank Budney
On June 15th, 2020 a juvenile Bald Eagle was rescued in a most unlikely location; on a major highway, located in an industrial area of Union County. At first glance stories like this usually have an unfortunate ending, considering the location, but the timely arrival of a local Police Officer on patrol saved the day.
This is only part of the story. The eagle in question was one of two nestlings that hatched from a nearby nest back on March 24. Its sibling fledged sometime in late May or early June while this individual remained on nest, branching next to it but never attempting to fly. By June 14, the juvenile in question was still perched next to the nest with no indication that it was about to fly until the following morning when it was rescued.
Barb fully prepared with her mask, in case of running into people in the remote area she is monitoring (left) and physically distancing on the banks of the Delaware (right).
In these unusual days, under threat of a potentially lethal pandemic and state mandated “social distancing”, I am so thankful that some of my “best friends” are bald eagle pairs and their nestlings! I observe and report on 6 nests in central and northwest NJ.
I am fortunate in that my viewing spots are all on land and roads which are not off limits. Yet most of my viewing locations are remote enough that I rarely have to confront people!
The nests in northwest Jersey are in especially remote locations. It is rare that I see even a couple cars on the roads en route to these nests, and even more unusual is seeing another person. Viewing two of these nests requires me to carry my gear a half mile while bushwhacking through rhododendron thickets.
But then I am on the river, it is calm and peaceful, and all I hear are the sounds of nature waking up in the early morning, feeling the sun rise on my face, and seeing and hearing the hungry eaglets begging their parents for breakfast! This is the perfect stress reliever needed in these troubled times!
Occasionally I have help with the two most remote nests. While these are 60-80 miles from my home, our friend (and fellow eagle project volunteer) lives near the area. When he joins me, we walk in to the viewing site separately, and set up our equipment at least 20-30 feet apart. This is social distancing as it should be!
Note: For the health and safety of our staff, volunteers and the communities where we work, CWF is only performing essential wildlife monitoring and conservation duties. While in the field, staff and volunteers are practicing social distancing and following all state and CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Thank you Barb for being a dedicated volunteer and for sharing the video clips below of some of your favorite moments from previous years’ monitoring:
“Mom and one of the nestlings are in the nest and Dad flies in with a huge wad of grass/hay to line the nest bole….keeping it clean, dry and comfy for his kids!”
“In 2018, a 15 week old fledgling was still hanging around the nest (for two months it stayed!). Here he is perching in a tree, taking a moment for a nice stretch.”
Mercer
County is now home to two pairs of bald eagles and their nests. The discovery
comes nearly three decades after the species nearly vanished from New Jersey.
“Bald eagles in particular were wiped out to
where we only had one nest in all of New Jersey as recently as the 1980s, and
it wasn’t even a successful nest. And now we have over 200 pairs of bald
eagles,” said David Wheeler, executive director of the Conserve Wildlife
Foundation of New Jersey.
Wheeler said pesticides and people led to the
near extinction of bald eagles.
Friday, bird watchers came
equipped with binoculars and cameras to catch a glimpse of one the nests
located at Mercer County Park.
“To
see the nature and the national symbol of the United States all right here
in Mercer Park is pretty neat,” said Flemington resident Graham
MacRitchie.
Nearly 70 people were part of a new educational
walking tour run by the County Parks Commission.
Eagle Viewing Event at Mercer County Park ~ Feb. 8 from 1-3pm
Bald eagle in flight. photo by Northside Jim
This breeding season, the Mercer County Park Commission is pleased to announce that two pairs of bald eagles have chosen County Parks for nest sites, continuing their expansion in New Jersey and the greater mid-Atlantic region. To celebrate the resident eagles, the Park Commission, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), PSE&G and the Wildlife Center Friends have launched a partnership to provide bald eagle-themed programs.
The first free public event will be at Mercer County Park at the West Picnic Area on Friday, Feb. 8 from 1 to 3 p.m. Participants will meet with naturalist staff and walk to the viewing site, where interpretation on eagle nesting will be offered. Attendees will also have the opportunity to view eagle activity through a spotting scope and binoculars.
On Sunday January 13th, 2019 photographer, Bob Cook was taking photos of the ~20 eagles at a lake in a Mercer County park. He noticed that one of the eagles had a green tag on it’s right leg. After reviewing the photos it was established that the band was D/99.
D/99;1/13/19@ Bob Cook
D/99 is from the Duke Farms nest located in Somerset County. He and his two siblings grew up as a celebrities their every move being watched by viewers of the Duke Farms eagle camera. The three chicks were banded on May 12th, 2014. Measurements showed that there there were two males and one female, D/99 was the youngest male. All three fledged from the nest in June 2014.
chicks at Duke Farms nest 5/12/14. D/99 is in the middle.
Unfortunately, in August of 2014 we received a report that D/98, the oldest male, was found dead up in Maine. He most likely died of injuries that occurred during a fight with another eagle. This most recent sighting of D/99 is the first report of either of the two remaining chicks. D/99 will be five years old in April and reaching the age where he will be looking for a mate and establishing his own territory. It is always nice to know that a chick has survived to adulthood and most likely has come back to NJ to nest.
The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ in partnership with the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program, has released the 2018 NJ Bald Eagle Project Report.
“Two hundred-four nest sites were monitored during the nesting season, of which 185 were documented to be active (with eggs) and 19 were territorial or housekeeping pairs. Thirty new eagle pairs were found this season, 20 in the south, nine in central and one in the north. One hundred-twenty-one nests (66%) of the 182 known-outcome nests produced 172 young, for a productivity rate of 0.94 young per active/known-outcome nest. The failure rate was well above average with 61 nests (33%) failing to produce. The Delaware Bay region remained the state’s eagle stronghold, with roughly half of nests located in Cumberland and Salem counties and the bayside of Cape May County.”
The number of active nests has increased while the number of young eagles fledged has decreased since a high of 216 young fledged in 2016. During the 2018 eagle nesting season there was an abundance of cold, wet, windy and snowy weather which was the cause for a portion of the nest failures. As the eagle population increases, there are more eagles competing for territories. This can also be a contributing factor in nest failures. NJ is still in the range of 0.9 to 1.1 young per nest which is needed for population maintenance with a productivity rate of 0.94 young per known-outcome/active nest in 2018. The 2018 NJ Eagle Project Report has all the details on the project including telemetry, re-sightings and recoveries.
The success of the eagle project is due to the tremendous dedication of the NJ Eagle Project Volunteers. They monitor the nests in all types of conditions and education people about the eagles with enthusiasm.
Lead poisoning continues to be a serious issue affecting Bald Eagles today. CWF and ENSP biologists produced a brochure to educate hunters about this issue and ask for their help. Below is an excerpt from the brochure. Please view the entire brochure and pass along to anyone you know who is a hunter.
One person can make a difference!
Thank you.
Eagle with lead poisoning at Tri-State Bird Rescue@Erica Miller
“Bald Eagles have made an amazing recovery in NJ since the 1980s. Today the eagle population still faces challenges and one of those is lead poisoning. Lead in the environment is dangerous to eagles as well as humans, and is often deadly. Unintentional poisoning of eagles can occur when they scavenge gut piles from deer or other game species shot with lead ammunition. It takes just a tiny fragment of lead to sicken and kill an eagle. Each year avian rehabilitators receive eagles that are diagnosed with lead poisoning and most will die. There is no good treatment for lead poisoning.”
On August 20th, 2018 a resident of Monmouth Beach reported a young eagle that had been perching in the neighborhood and was possibly injured. NJ Eagle Project Volunteer Randy Lubischer, was able to respond and check out the situation. The bird was a hatch year eagle, which means it fledged during this nesting season. The eagle was feeding on a swan carcass and though Randy could get fairly close, the bird was able to fly a short distance and appeared to have an injury to its left leg. The eagle had been seen feeding on the swan carcass for the past few days, so it was assumed that its injury was keeping it from hunting and the bird would only get weaker over time.
So far this season 123 eagle chicks have fledged (taken their first flight). Even after fledging the chicks will stay around the nest area for the next few weeks learning to hunt, fly and survive on their own.
Below are some photos of recent fledges taken by NJ Eagle Project Volunteers
