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.
The two Duke Farms bald eagle chicks peek out from under their parent to catch some sun.
It looks like the Duke Farm’s nest will only have two chicks this season.
One egg remains in the nest bowl and is still being incubated, but based on when the second chick hatched, March 1st, it should have hatched by now. We won’t know for certain why the egg didn’t hatch, but one theory is that it was the first egg laid.
There had been intruder eagles at the nest and fights between the adults and intruders. At one point both adults were off the nest for 20 minutes while an immature was in the nest. Perhaps something happened to the egg during these incidents.
The egg will eventually get buried in the nest or shoved to the side. The adults are busy bringing food to the nest for feedings and both chicks are getting plenty of food.
CWF along with the NJ ENSP are using NJ Eagle Trax to track, “Duke” a year and a half old eagle who was outfitted with a transmitter on May 25th 2019.
May 25, 2019. Duke with transmitter @Kathy Clark
The last update I wrote was on March 31st. and at that time Duke had headed up to his old nest site at Duke Farms and then flew back south to the Susquehanna. In April he ranged along the Susquehanna in Southern PA and the Chesapeake region in MD, he did make a quick trip up into PA and back to MD. Duke spent all of May along the Susquehanna River near the Cononwingo Dam.
On June 1st he made another big trip up to Duke Farms and his old nest site. On June 9th he started heading back south and spent the rest of the month along the Susquehanna River. He spent all of July and August along the southern section of the Susquehanna River.
The Conowingo Dam, just south of the PA/MD state line in Darlington MD, is a location that Duke has visited several times over the last few months. This is an area where eagles congregate during fall migration and the winter. It is a popular eagle viewing spot, so perhaps someone will be able to get a photo of Duke. He still has a few years left before he’ll set up his own territory and find a mate.
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.
Splashing across a stream, letting imagination take flight on the wings of a bird and the excitement of navigating a new trail are some magical moments in childhood that resonate through the years, not just as memories but as life lessons.
Kids who spend time outdoors, or #OptOutside, aren’t just having fun getting dirty. Time outdoors has been shown to reduce childhood depression and stress, build kids’ confidence and even improve performance in school.
The male at the Duke Farms nest is banded with a green NJ band, A/59. He is nineteen years old this season.
D/59 and female: Feb. 4, 2019@Kathy Clark
On March 24, 2000, at 2 weeks of age, A/59 was fostered from the Greenwich nest in Cumberland County to the Rancocas nest in Burlington County. On May 15, 2000 he was banded, a backpack transmitter attached and fledged on June 3. ENSP’s staff tracked A/59 until the transmitter’s signal was last recorded on October 22. You can read more details in the 2000 Bald Eagle Report. A/59 started nesting at the Duke Farms nest in 2006 and has been in the public eye ever since on the Duke Farms eagle cam.
“Tiny” C/94: Update
We have an interesting update on one of A/59’s offspring, “Tiny” C/94, who has been nesting in CT since 2014. “Tiny’s” original mate was a Massachusetts banded female. In 2017 nest monitor Cyndi Pratt Didan, reported that he had a new mate with a green NJ band on her right leg. Cyndi was recently able to get a photo of the females band and we could read the code as D/15.
D/15 in CT @Cyndi Pratt Didan
In 2010, D/15 was one of two female chicks banded at the Duke Farms nest. Yes, she is Tiny’s sibling. Tiny was banded in 2009. It is interesting that two eagles from the same nest in NJ ended up as a pair nesting in CT and that we are able to know this information via bands and the Duke Farms cam. Cyndi has not yet found where the pair is nesting but will keep us updated.
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.
Nature can be awe inspiring and beautiful. Watching a powerful bald eagle gently offer food to a newly hatched chick is amazing. Cheering awkward chicks walking on wobbly legs, and holding your breath when they take that first flight are the events live cam viewers look forward to year after year.
Duke Farms nest-2016
We are reminded of the harsh realities of nature too. Nest fails can and do happen. Many things can go wrong: storms, predators in the nest, or conflicts with other eagles and territorial disputes. Watching it happen live, can be heartbreaking. Every event is a learning experience for us all.
There is a sad ending this year at the Duke Farms nest. It was hard to see the adult pair defending their nest from younger interlopers again. Harder still was actually witnessing the failure of both eggs. Hatching is a complicated business. We’ve been fortunate to have many years of success. As watchers, we must take the good with the bad. This is nature after all.
So what do we do now? My love of nature and the bald eagle will have me seeking out other live cams, but missing my local wild family. I will remember the successes of past years. I will stare in amazement as I look up into the sky to watch a bald eagle soaring overhead.
Duke Farms- 2016
Life will go on. The cycle will continue, if not in “my” nest, in another. Nature will find its balance. Thank you to Duke Farms and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ for bringing us the live cam. Thank you to the state biologists who work every day to preserve and protect the wildlife in our state.
Egg 1 was laid on February 14th this year. Bald Eagle eggs are incubated for about 35 days. That means the first hatch could be next week, Wednesday, March 21st! What are the signs hatching has begun? As an observer for many years, viewing the live cam has taught me much. These are some behaviors I’ve seen in the past to alert me that hatching will soon begin or is already underway.
Believe it or not, the adult and chick can “talk” to each other through the shell. Watch for the adults to stand over the eggs with their heads bent closer to them. You may even see movement of the adult’s bill, as it “chirps” to its chick inside the egg.
If food begins to show up in the nest, the adults could be preparing for another mouth to feed. They are stocking the “pantry”.
Restless adults, with lots of moving around on the nest, or more frequent egg rolls, is another sign to watch carefully. When you get a clear view of the eggs, look for a tiny hole or a spider web-like cracking. This first hole in the shell is called a pip, and is made by the chick. The chicks do all the work!
Pips can be difficult to spot with protective adults blocking the view. You may wonder if you are looking at a spot of dirt or piece of grass on the egg or a real pip. Trust your eyes and keep watching, that pip will increase in size. This is exhausting and hard work for a little one. The complete hatching process can sometimes takes a day or two.
It is amazing to watch the progress once the first pip has appeared. Get ready for the most eggciting time of year for eagle watchers!
NJ.com reporter Alexis Johnson at Duke Farms in Hillsborough
Conserve Wildlife Foundation has long partnered on the famed Eagle Cam at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, which has thrilled over 13 million viewers since it started.
In this video, NJ.com reporter Alexis Johnson covers the state’s longest running Eagle Cam with an interview with Duke Farms Executive Director Michael Catania.
Bald eagles have nested at Duke Farms since 2005. Currently the pair has laid two eggs in this nest, with the first egg laid on Valentines Day this year.
From just a single nest remaining in the state in the late 1970s and early 1980s, bald eagles have recovered to over 170 nests, thanks largely to scientists and volunteers from the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program and Conserve Wildlife Foundation.
The Duke Farms Eagle Cam can be found here, and author Jim Wright’s e-book “Duke Farms’ Bald Eagles” provides some fascinating additional information about this nest.
CWF’s Bald Eagle webpage and annual Bald Eagle report details the story of bald eagles in New Jersey, with a number of other helpful links.
