For the second year in a row there haven’t been eagles nesting on the Three Bridges platform in view of eagle cam. The pair used the platform when it was first installed in 2021 and viewers got to watch the two chicks grow up and fledge. In 2022 & 2023 the pair have nested in a tree nest instead of the platform. While it’s disappointing that the pair didn’t use the platform, there was still plenty of avian action at the tower this season. There were several immature eagles visiting the platform this season, perhaps in the next few years one of these eagles will pair up and use the platform.
Slideshow: Highlights from the 2023 Three Bridges Eagle cam season
December 4th, 2022, photo by: Mary Ellen Hill
December 9, 2022; photo by, Barb McKee
eagle pair chase off Red- tailed hawk
American Kestrels
Peregrine Falcon
Red-tailed hawk
Northern Flicker
The eagle cam will be turned off April 1st.
Thank you to all the viewers who watch and enjoy this eagle cam. During the 2023 season there were 22,981 views of the cam. Thank you to the the eagle project volunteers, especially Mary Ellen Hill, who grab screenshots from the cam. We also thank PSE&G for hosting and supporting the eagle camera.
Three Bridges adult perched on tower December 5th 2021 by Lisa Romero
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.
This eagle nesting season we have been following the story of the Three Bridges eagle pair in a blog series. A camera on the nest allowed viewers to get an up-close view of the nesting activities. The pair successfully raised two chicks, who biologists banded (green bands H/04 & H/05), and they fledged the end of June.
On July 4th, eagle H/05, was found injured near the nest. He was taken to The Raptor Trust where he was treated for a fracture of the left coracoid bone, which supports powered flight in the wing. He remained in the care of The Raptor Trust until he was fully healed and had regained some of his flight strength.
Three Bridges nest monitors continued to observe the nest area and determined that the adults and H/04 were still around the nest platform. In a very quick and quiet manner, H/05 was released back at the nest site last past week. It was necessary to have adults in the area, so he can continue his post-fledging period with them, learning to hunt and survive on his own.
H/05, August 12, 2021@ Mary Ellen Hill
Since his release, H/05 has been seen flying and perching in the nest area. It is very important for people to view the nest platform from a distance and not approach the nest tower or any eagles perched in the area. We all need to keep this nest area “eagle-safe” for the next month, giving H/05 and his family time to reacquaint and re-learn eagle skills! We thank everyone who has supported this eagle family.
In part 4 of this blog series the Three Bridges eagle pair had returned to the newly installed nest platform. We are happy to report that incubation began on February 24th.
nest exchange during incubation @ Dan Brill
Nest monitors have reported that hatching was occurring on April 2nd. Since nest monitors can’t see into the nest they go by the adults behavior to indicate hatching. The adult will start sitting higher on the nest, looking down more often and moving around. The eggs hatch in the order in which they were laid, so there could be a chick, while the adult continues to incubate any remaining eggs. The adults will feed the chick and a steady supply of food will be brought into the nest. Unfortunately the cam is currently not operational. It will require access to the pole to diagnosis the problem. A visit isn’t possible at this point, due to the nesting pair.
The drama continues at the Three Bridges eagle nest. When I last wrote about this pair in part 3 of the blog series, they were busy working on a nest in a tree and had not been sighted at the newly installed tower with the nest platform. Eagle Project nest monitors have been keeping a close eye on both the new tree nest and the platform. The pair had been busy bringing sticks to the tree nest.
February 7, 2021@ Joe Mish
This past week nest monitors saw a pair of eagles on the transmission towers and mating on the platform! The volunteer’s have been trying to figure out if this is one pair or two separate pairs. On February 12th, a pair was seen at the tree nest and in the afternoon a pair was seen on the nesting platform, mating. Since then eagles have been sighted at both the nest tree and the nest platform.
February 12, 2021 nesting platform @ Tom GuniaTower with nesting platform and eagle pair perched on arm 2/13/21 @ Mary Ellen Hill
It isn’t uncommon for eagle pairs to build more then one nest and perhaps the Three Bridges pair is deciding which nest to use. But the possibility remains that there could be a second pair in the area. The Three Bridges pair laid their eggs on February 23rd last nesting season, so they should start incubation in the next week or two. Dedicated nest monitors will closely monitor the situation to see which nest is used and when eggs are laid.
In part one and two of this blog series we followed the Three Bridges eagle pair. The transmission tower where they had previously nested was replaced and a new nesting platform installed. The question was: would the pair return and use the new nesting platform? Eagle Project volunteers have been closely monitoring the tower and surrounding areas for the eagle pair. The eagles have not been seen at their old nesting tower. At one point it looked like they were building a nest on an adjacent tower, but the amount of sticks never increased. Then a new eagle nest was found in a tree about a mile away from the tower location.
eagle bringing stick back to nest in tree 1/14/21 @ Joe Mish
After many observations by nest monitors it is believed that this is the Three Bridges pair. While we can’t be 100 percent certain, the fact that they haven’t been seen at their old nest location and that this new nest is close enough to be in their territory. It is not uncommon for eagle pairs to relocate their nest if there is disturbance to the nest site. While it is disappointing, the new nest platform might not go to waste. Nest monitors have seen immature eagles perched on the newly installed tower and nest platform.
sub-adult & immature on new tower @ Mary Ellen Hill
immature on nest platform 1/9/21@ Barb Mckee
As the number of eagles’s nesting in NJ continues to increase, it only makes sense that a pair will eventually use the nesting platform in the future.
