One of my favorite things about working with the NJ Eagle Project is when we receive resighting’s of New Jersey banded eagles. Especially when that eagle is in a pair and nesting. One eagle that we’ve been following over the years, is fondly named “Jersey Girl” due to her NJ origins. She was reported to us in 2014 by Linda Oughton, who has been keeping track of her and her mate since 2010.
Jersey Girl and her mate nest in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She was one of three chicks banded May 10th 2004 at the Hopewell West, nest which is located in Cumberland County along the Cohansey River. She was banded with green band B-64. That means that this May “Jersey Girl” will be twenty years old!
Since 2010 the pair has successfully raised and fledged a total of 20 young eagles. The pair is not yet incubating this season and Linda reports that they usually start on Valentine’s Day. The pair is well loved by neighbors and people who walk along the Perkiomen Creek, where the pair often fishes.
It’s so wonderful to know that an eagle I helped band almost 20 years ago has survived and raised 20 chicks of her own.
The NJDEP Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey have published the New Jersey Bald Eagle Project, 2023. The NJ eagle population continues to thrive. During the 2023 nesting season, 286 nest sites were monitored of these 155 pairs were active (laid eggs). This is a slight increase of 5 active nests from 2022. This season 309 young eagles were documented to have fledged, this number is a down from 2022’s high of 335 young fledged. The productivity rate of 1.28 young per active nest is above the 1.0 young per nest needed for population maintenance.
Fifty-four nest failed to fledge young this season, this means that the pair laid eggs, but the eggs failed to hatch or the chicks did not make it to fledging. There could be many reasons for nest failure including weather events, nest/tree collapse, disturbance by humans or intruder eagles. The NJ eagle population is doing well but they still need monitoring and protection. There is constant pressure for development in NJ and if we don’t know about a nest we can’t help to protect it. Eagles are nesting in all 21 NJ counties, from remote marshes in southern New Jersey to suburban neighborhoods. How the ENSP and CWF protects these nests is on a nest by nest basis. We couldn’t do this without the dedicated group of 150 NJ Eagle Project volunteers who not only monitor the eagle nests, but help minimize disturbance to nests by educating the public about NJ’s eagle population.
The 2024 NJ Bald Eagle season is underway with eight pairs currently incubating. A great way to see what goes on in an eagles nest is to watch the Duke Farms eagle cam. The female should be laying the first egg any day now.
We’d like to thank all the volunteers, sponsors, donors and friends of the NJ Eagle Project
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.
Last week I attended the APLIC (Avian Powerline Interaction Committee) workshop hosted by PSE&G. APLIC is a group that leads the electric utility industry in protecting avian resources while enhancing reliable energy delivery. We all use electricity and power lines are needed to distribute the power to where it’s needed. Powerlines and transmission towers have become a normal part of the landscape and we don’t pay much attention until our power goes out. All different species of birds, from bald eagles to starlings, interact with powerlines, poles and towers daily, including perching and nesting on them.
With these interactions come issues, birds can be injured or die from electrocution and collisions which can cause power outages. Nests on poles and transmission towers can create problems with outages and fires as well as risk to chicks or adults. One part of my job is keep track of all reported injured or dead bald eagles in New Jersey. In 2023 there have been fifteen confirmed eagle electrocutions. Any recoveries that are a suspected electrocution or collision with a powerline are reported to the appropriate utility company. CWF and the NJ ENSP have a good relationship with the Utility companies in New Jersey. Each utility company has biologists that work on environmental issues including avian. There are a whole set of issues that they need to be taken into consideration when deciding how best to minimize negative avian interactions. The solutions require time, money and often scheduled power outages. When an area of lines or poles are identified as a risk for bird electrocution/collision, they are made as avian safe as possible. When new distribution lines are rebuilt, avian issues are taken into consideration and the appropriate measures are implemented.
There are quite a few bald eagles and ospreys that nest on poles and transmission towers throughout New Jersey. Most of these nests don’t cause problems, but if they need to be removed, the utility company works to obtain the proper permits and replace the nest with a new nesting structure in close vicinity. One example is the Three Bridges eagle nest. PSE&G needed to replace the entire distribution line where an eagle pair had been nesting on one of the towers for years. After much planning and coordination the nest was removed and placed on a nest platform installed on one of the new towers.
I certainly learned a lot at the workshop and gained a new appreciation for everything that goes into keeping our electricity flowing at the flick of a switch and making sure that avian species stay safe at the same time.
NJ Eagle Project Volunteers monitor nests during the nesting season. Since they spend a lot of time observing the nest and eagles behavior they get to see some pretty interesting things and many of them are able to document with photos. I asked volunteers to send me their three favorite photos from the eagle nesting season. Thank you to all the eagle project volunteers for their dedication
Enjoy the slideshow.
Manville-The Hatch @ Rose Joy
Adult bringing a fish to Junior at the Mercer Co. nest @ Kevin & Karin Buynie
Alloway E, nestling @ Clare Luisi
“Back together with our mentor (Kim Korth) @ Kevin & Karin Buynie
photo by: Blake Alan
photo by: Blake Alan
Bull Island, “This pair worked diligently during the early months,then abandoned this nest which had been productive for at least a decade! @ Barb McKee
Denville-fledgling returning to nest@Margaret & Chuck Blewett
Duke Farm May 5th @ Diane Cook
Duke Farm, Family Time May 13th @ Diane Cook
Difficult challenges for the Atlantic City nest, high power lines and nearby windmills. This nest had successful last year but was unsuccessful this season@ Bill Reinert
Eagle Point_Red Bank nest@ Rick & Tina Clegg
Eagle Point_Red bank @ Rick & Tina Clegg
Cape May “Family Portrait @ John King
Higbee “good luck kiss from Mom before Junior’s first flight” @ John King
Group who renested the two Princeton eaglets
“Double trouble” @ Blake Alan
Linden @ Tony Gregorio
Lower Patcong-single fledgling @ Bill Reinert
“male returning with Herring Gull” @ Rich Nicol
Manville- “fledged for four weeks” @ Rose Joy
Manville Mom feeding triplets @Rose Joy
Duke Farms March 2nd @ Diane Cook
Merrill Creek eagle after trying to catch a fish@ Louis Schwarz
Merrill Creek pair@Louis Schwarz
Mt. Airy “Woohoo-Ready to fly@Barb McKee
Overpeck juvenile@ D. DeSantis
Overpeck@ D. DeSantis
Overpeck adult @ D. DeSantis
Pine Tavern pair @ Clare Luisi
Princeton chicks (H38 & H39) back in their new nest built by John Heilferty
Quinton B trio@ Clare Luisi
Rainbow Lake fledge (Kathy Clark & Heiki Poolake) @ Donna Poolake
School House pair with chick @ Poolake’s
Schoolhouse nest @ Poolake’s
South River’s fledgling pair joined by a Great Blue Heron @ Bill Reinert
Audubon nestling @ Spence Bennett
Audubon @ Spence Bennett
Audubon pair @ Spence Bennett
Three Bridges eagle cam Feb. 7th @ Mary Ellen Hill
Three Bridges eagle cam, Kestrel Jan, 24th @ Mary Ellen Hill
Three Bridges eagle cam @ Mary Ellen Hill
Woodschurch nest-two chicks, within days of fledging @ Barb McKee