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.
Forsythe NWR 5/7/20@ Alex Tongas, NJ Eagle Project Nest Monitor
We are nearing the end of the New Jersey Bald Eagle nesting season. This season we are monitoring 210 active pairs, 33 of those are newly recorded nesting pairs. Two-hundred and eighty chicks have been reported in nests and eight chicks have fledged. These numbers will change as NJ eagle project volunteers continue to report on their nests.
As with every season there have also been nest failures. Some nest failed due to storms damaging the nest tree or nest, while cause of other failures are undetermined.
On May 5th a eagle chick was found on the ground in Bridgeton and taken to Tri-State Bird Research & Rescue in Delaware. The chick was examined and found to be in good health, so the next step was to plan to re-nest. The chick was found near the Sunset nest located on private property. The next day a second chick was found on the ground in the same location. Unfortunately, this second chick did not survive it’s injuries from the fall. It was determined that the nest had partially fallen from the tree. The homeowner did see the adults still in the area of the nest.
Plans were made to install a temporary platform in which to place the surviving chick. She was 8.5 weeks old, so still a few weeks away from taking her first flight.
The chick was banded NJ E/92 and placed in her new “home” for the next few weeks. We were very pleased when we saw one of the adults fly down low over the platform area. As of May 17th, the nest monitor reported the chick was still on the platform .
Get a little wild while being safe at home! Join Conserve Wildlife Foundation and Mercer County Park Commission to get your eyes on eagles – virtually.
We’re co-hosting hour-long webinars on May 10 and June 7 with Mercer County Park Commission. Each virtual event will feature current footage collected safely from one of the bald eagle nests in the County Park system, along with bald eagle history and interpretation provided by Park naturalists and David Wheeler, Executive Director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation.
Some of the species (super) volunteer John King has helped.
When I retired from teaching, one of my first tasks was to search for local organizations that encouraged volunteers, especially in areas of wildlife conservation. Luckily, I found Conserve Wildlife Foundation. I have to say that over the past few years, my volunteer service with CWF has been both rewarding and inspiring!
We have been following “Duke” on NJ Eagle Trax, since he fledged from the Duke Farms nest on June 15th, 2019. He spent January in the Chesapeake Bay region. February and March he was ranging around northern MD and southern PA. On March 21st he made a big move up to NJ and was very close to his old nest. The points show him at Bradley Gardens at 4:42pm and the next point, to the southwest, at 4:59. We don’t know where he was between those two points but was certainly close enough to pass over his old nest. He spent the night at Round Valley Reservoir and the headed south on March 22nd.
The Stow Creek Viewing platform was built and installed in 1990 along the Stow Creek in Cumberland County. In 1990 there were only four eagle nests in New Jersey. The Stow Creek pair built their nest in a large sycamore tree in an active farm field. The Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program built the viewing platform across the creek, and it was featured in the first New Jersey Wildlife Viewing Guide. This beautiful site gave the public a safe spot to view nesting eagles without disturbing them.
In 2005, the eagle pair moved to a new location about 1 mile away along the Canton Drain, inside an active blue heron rookery and have nested there ever since. The sycamore tree remained empty until this season when a new pair of eagles built a nest in the tree.
The 2020 nesting season is off to a good start for New Jersey’s bald eagles. As of early March, eagles all over the state are incubating eggs, and a handful of nests have already successfully hatched chicks. The eagle cam at Duke Farms broadcast the first chick there hatching on February 26, and the second chick made its appearance on March 1st.
Nesting bald eagles return to the capital county. Photo by Kevin Buynie.
Join the Mercer County Park Commission, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), PSE&G and the Wildlife Center Friends for the the second year of “Eyes on Eagles” programming to celebrate the four pairs of bald eagles that nest in Mercer County, including two pairs that have chosen County parks for nest sites.
The Division of NJ Fish and Wildlife along with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, released the 2019 New Jersey Bald Eagle Project Report. 2019 was a good year for eagles as a record high of 249 eagles fledged from nests. Two hundred eleven nest sites were monitored of which 190 were active (with eggs) and 21 were territorial or housekeeping pairs. The success of the eagle project is due to the dedication of the NJ Eagle Project volunteers who monitor and protect eagle nests throughout the state.
by Nora DiChiara, Duke Farms Director of Programs and Strategic Planning
There is a new female Bald Eagle in the Duke Farms nest. If you’ve been counting, this is the third female to occupy the nest at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey. Our nearly 20-year-old male, resident serial monogamist Bald Eagle has sired over 25 bald eagle chicks since the nest creation in 2004.
