Eagle nest monitors kept watch over bald eagle nests throughout New Jersey during the 2026 nesting season. As with every nesting season there were ups and downs as some pairs failed to hatch eggs or their young didn’t survive, while other pairs successfully raised young. I asked the nest monitors to send me two of their favorite photos from the season. Below is the collection of their excellent photos.
All photos were taken by the trained volunteers at safe distance so as not to disturb the eagles.
In central Jersey, where I live, the banding of eaglets has taken place at several nests. The nest monitor reports on the chicks growth, so that the eaglets can be safely banded around six weeks of age. E83 a male, was banded in 2019 at the Three Bridges tower nest with at least four of my fellow central Jersey Eagle Project Volunteers present.
E83; photo Joe Mish
photo Diane Cook
In central New Jersey a group of six Eagle Project volunteers will support, cooperate and share nest news with each other. Occasionally, we spot a banded sub-adult from a local nest, and that is cause for great jubilation. H/22, banded at the Mt Airy nest in 2022 was spotted along the South Branch of the Raritan near the Three Bridges tower nest in May of 2025. Another eagle E88, “Duke” was banded in 2019 at Duke Farms and fitted with a solar tracker. Being able to follow his movements taught us that sub adults spend considerable time within 50 miles or so, of their natal nest, even landing in the nest tree. The parents seem to tolerate such visits until a new season produces eggs and tiny chicks. I have seen sub adults at or perched near nests that I observe while the adult pair was quite tolerant. I have wondered if the “visitor” was an offspring of the pair.
Bulls Island pair nest exchange 3-14-26: photo Barb McKee
E83 at the Bulls Island nest 3-11-26: photo Barb McKee
My fellow central NJ volunteers and I hoped to find a new nest with a locally banded adult and its mate. For as long as I have been an Eagle Project volunteer, I have watched and reported on the nest at Bulls Island State Park. So, I was absolutely thrilled in early 2026 when I was able to read the band of the new male at the Bulls Island nest: E/83.
The distance, from the Three Bridges nest to Bulls Island nest is 14 miles.
Bulls Island 4 week old chicks, 4-27-26; photo Barb Mckee
Barb McKee
Even more exciting, E/83 and his mate successfully fledged triplets this season! It will be interesting to see what happens at the Bulls Island nest next season.
Photos and/or history and encouragement by Diane Cook, Joe Mish, Dan Kroon and Mary Ellen Hill
This shorebird season 43 stewards worked a total of 1,374 hours over a two week period from May 9th thru May 25th. Stewards were posted at restricted access beaches in Cape May and Cumberland Counties. Stewards help to protect the migrating shorebirds that stop over on the Delaware Bay to feed on the horseshoe crab eggs. They keep people off of the restricted beaches by educating them about the importance of letting the shorebirds feed undisturbed so that they can gain the weight needed to continue their journey north to their breeding ground’s. Continue reading “NJ Delaware Bay Shorebird Stewards: Protectors and Educators”
The 2025 NJ Bald Eagle Project report developed by the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey , has been released. In 2025 the NJ eagle population had a decline in the number of active (laid eggs) nest from 264 active nests in 2024 to 251 in 2025. The decline is partly due to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Testing confirmed that 28 of 56 bald eagle mortalities last year (for which testing was completed) were the result of HPAI.
Eastern Tiger Salamander 11/22/25 photo by Tony Klock
This time of year most wildlife is hunkering down for the winter either in New Jersey or migrating to southern destinations until the next breeding season. One New Jersey salamander is just getting started, The Eastern Tiger Salamander(ETS) is the largest salamander species found in New Jersey and a state Endangered species. ETS are found in only a few locations in southern NJ. Conserve Wildlife Foundation works with the NJ Endangered and Nongame Species program to monitor ETS breeding pools and populations. ETS spend most of their adult lives in underground borrows they will emerge to breed on warm wet nights beginning in December through February. The females lay egg masses in vernal pools and then return to their burrows. CWF’s website has detailed information on the ETS lifecycle
ENSP Senior Zoologist Bill Pitts and Darby Brant install a water gauge at a ETS breeding pool.
Off road vehicle disturbance to a ETS breeding pool.
These vernal breeding pools are a necessity for the ETS population to survive in New Jersey. In 2025 due to low water levels from a drought, only a few of the deeper breeding pools had enough water for ETS breeding activity. These breeding pools not only face threats from climate change but also from pollution, habitat loss and disturbance from off road vehicles.
It’s important to identify new ETS breeding pools so that they can be monitored and protected. Some exciting new projects are in the future for the ETS project including collecting habitat and water quality data, eDNA study and a VIE (visible implant elastomer) study.
You can help by reporting any Eastern Tiger Salamander Sighting to the NJ Wildlife Tracker
On September 28th a bald eagle with a green band was reported in the Princeton area and again on October 5th, by Susan VanderKam. The code on the band was D99 an eagle who fledged from the 2014 Duke Farms nest. In 2014 the Duke Farms pair raised and fledged three eaglets while being viewed by thousands of people on the eagle cam. The eaglets were banded by state biologists at six weeks of age. D99 a male and the youngest, D98 a male and the second youngest and a female, EOO who was the oldest eaglet. They all fledged in June, 2014.
April 2nd, 2024
After banding May 14th, 2014
On August 25th, 2014, D98 was found dead in Little Sebago, Maine. For more details on what occurred prior to his death see the blog post. E00 the only female has been resighted once and that was on the Duke Farm eagle cam. On February 20th, 2018 as a four year old eagle she returned to her natal nest, while the Duke Farms pair was incubating. The female eventually chased her away.
D99 has been resighted several times since fledging. He was seen in January 2019 at Mercer Lakes
D99 Mercer County Park, January 13, 2019, Bob Cook
In January 2021 he was seen feeding on a deer carcass in Monmouth County.
D99, January 18, 2021, Kristen Branchizio
D99 is now 11 years old and is most likely in a breeding pair and nesting. On September 28th he was perched in a tree with another eagle. Perhaps this is his mate? It would be very exciting to know that he is nesting and we’ll keep you updated.
D99 perched with second eagle. September 28,2025 photo by Susan VanderKam
The New Jersey Bald Eagle nesting season is finished for the year, so both the eagles and volunteer nest monitors now get a few months rest. Conserve Wildlife Foundation and the NJ ENSP hosted the annual eagle volunteer get-together at the Assunpink WMA this past Saturday. Forty-five volunteers attended and enjoyed discussing the season with fellow nest monitors and NJ eagle project staff.
On behalf of the NJ Eagle Project we thank all the 160 nest monitors who are dedicated to monitoring and protecting the NJ bald eagle population.
Thank you to Barb & Rick McKee for providing sandwiches and everyone who generously brought delicious side dishes and desserts to share.
The 2025 New Jersey Bald Eagle nesting season is finished. We are still gathering up the data for the final numbers which will be published in the annual NJ Bald Eagle Project Report. The 160 eagle project nest monitors spend countless hours monitoring eagle nests through out New Jersey. I’ve asked the nest monitors to share two of their favorite photos from the 2025 nesting season. Enjoy.
Please click on the first photo to see the Slideshow:
Horseshoe crabs are ancient creatures, having first evolved hundreds of millions of years ago. Since then, they haven’t changed much, but the world around them certainly has. Human activity has taken a toll on horseshoe crabs- for years, people have been harvesting them for use as bait and in medical applications. New Jersey now has a moratorium preventing this from continuing, but their population is still lower than it should be. Luckily, something as simple as flipping a horseshoe crab off of its back can help to restore their numbers. I recently had the privilege of joining Larissa Smith, Senior Wildlife Biologist at CWF, on a trip to the Delaware Bay. In partnership with ReTurn the Favor, she regularly visits beaches that are rife with stranded horseshoe crabs and helps them get back to the water. At the nightly high tide, hundreds of crabs come up to shore to spawn, but when the tide goes out, many of them get stuck on their backs or buried in vegetation, unable to return to their habitats. Rescuing them can be as easy as turning them back onto their legs, but others need a bit more help.
On this day, we started with just a few unfortunate crabs that needed assistance getting off of their backs. We picked them up, flipped them, and off they went. But then, as we turned from the beach to a marshy creek, we were met with hundreds of crabs trapped in the grass. At first, it seemed like we were too late to save them, but as we went along, we found that almost every single one was still alive. So, we wrestled them out of the greenery and carried them back down to the water.
A female horseshoe crab, before and after rescuing
It was a lot of work, but we soon managed to rescue over 100 horseshoe crabs from that section alone. Most of them were females, as evidenced by their large size and pincers. Each one that survived represented a potential new generation of crabs. Female horseshoe crabs can lay around 80 thousand to 100 thousand eggs per year, most of which become food sources for other animals like laughing gulls, which were flocked heavily on the beaches that day. While it’s a bit unfortunate for the crabs, the loss of some of their eggs helps to keep the ecosystem running smoothly.
In just a few hours, we helped 198 horseshoe crabs return to the bay, and we had a lot of fun doing it. The effort to restore the populations of New Jersey’s horseshoe crabs is full of obstacles, but there is also so much hope. Just about anyone can flip an overturned horseshoe crab, and the feeling that comes along with doing so is wonderful. While the horseshoe crabs may not be able to thank us, we can always tell that they greatly appreciate our support.
by Larissa Smith Senior Wildlife Biologist Posted on
photo by Bill Reinert
Shorebird stewards may not wear capes but they are superhero’s to the multitude of shorebirds stopping along the Delaware Bay in the spring. During May, the beaches in New Jersey are an important stopover for these migratory birds who are mainly feeding on the horseshoe crab eggs, deposited during the annual horseshoe crab spawn. The shorebirds, which include the red knot a NJ endangered species, have a short window to reach their ideal weight before leaving on the next half of their journey north to breed. Eight beaches in Cape May County and two in Cumberland County have restricted access during the migration so that the shorebirds can feed undisturbed.
photo by Dom Manalo
Since 2003 Conserve Wildlife Foundation has coordinated the Shorebird Stewards, who help protect the feeding shorebirds by educating the public. This season thirty-one stewards were stationed at beaches between May 10th to May 26th. While most stewards are from New Jersey, we have stewards from Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Some of the stewards volunteer for a day, while others work the entire season and many return year after year. No matter how often someone has been a steward, they have a made a difference and we have definitely seen a positive change in peoples attitudes over the years. Visitors come from all over to view the shorebirds and horseshoe crabs and one of the main questions the stewards get asked is, “where are the shorebirds today”?
photo by Luke Tan
Some days the beach where the steward is assigned has only few shorebirds, while other days the beach is covered with the feeding birds. While the majority of beach goers have a positive attitude about the beach restrictions, there will always be those that want to go on the beach. While these situation aren’t always pleasant, the stewards are trained to handle them calmly and with education.
