- Link to Part I
- Read full results from last year’s survey in the 2018 NJ Osprey Project Report
- Learn more about our Osprey Project
Category: Raptors
New Jersey’s Ospreys: A Symbol of a Healthy Coast
2018 Becomes most productive year in history.
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
If you live along or visit the coast, then it’s no surprise that ospreys continue to thrive in New Jersey. 2018 was yet another banner year for these coastal nesting raptors. Their large stick nests depict our rivers and estuaries while they indicate that we’re doing a good job of protecting our local environment along the coast. Today we’ve published results from last year’s nesting season in the 2018 New Jersey Osprey Project Report.
Continue reading “New Jersey’s Ospreys: A Symbol of a Healthy Coast”Fly Eagles Fly!
Eagle Viewing Event at Mercer County Park ~ Feb. 8 from 1-3pm
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.
The Record – Editorial: In Salute to NJ’s Proud Birds of Prey
…Let’s set aside a few minutes, shall we, and behold all the big birds and their continued resurgence in the Garden State.
Editorial by the (Bergen) Record / NorthJersey.com
Exhibit One is the peregrine falcon, which in its swooping dive can reach speeds of 240 mph, and whose remarkable comeback was charted by NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey environmental reporter Scott Fallon. He wrote of how state researchers and wildlife advocates had documented a record 40 nesting pairs in 2018, a near-miraculous feat considering the species had been all but left for dead in New Jersey beginning in the 1960s….
Duke Farms Alumni D/99: All Grown Up
by Larissa Smith: CWF Biologist
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 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.
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.
2018 NJ Bald Eagle Project Report
by: Larissa Smith, CWF Wildlife Biologist
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.
THANK YOU
Bald Eagles and Lead: A Deadly Mix
by Larissa Smith, CWF Biologist
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.
“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.”
Video from the Field: Osprey Platform Install
Ensuring Osprey Platforms Remain Resilient
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
On a brisk November morning, a couple dedicated NJ Osprey Project volunteers joined myself and CWF Biologist Larissa Smith to install an osprey platform on the coastal saltmarsh of New Jersey. The new platform was installed to replace a very old and unstable platform that fell this summer. The new structure is more than twice the size of the old one and will give the nesting pair, who return in the spring, a much more resilient nest site. As you can see from the video above, it takes a bit of strength to raise up a 16′ tall wood nest platform. We decided to slow it down when WCC Volunteer, Wayne R. gives it a final push. Continue reading “Video from the Field: Osprey Platform Install”
Early Birds….
by Larissa Smith: CWF Biologist
Some of New Jersey’s eagle pairs are getting an early start on the 2019 nesting season. Eagles in NJ will begin incubation anywhere from January through March. NJ Eagle Project volunteers usually report eagles back and working on the their nests in the late fall/early winter. But some pairs have already been spotted sprucing up their nests in preparation for the upcoming nesting season.
Injured Eagle Flying Once Again
…thanks to help from some friends.
By: Larissa Smith, CWF Biologist
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.
