Conserve Wildlife Blog

Posts Tagged ‘bald eagle’

Thank You Cathy and Jeff White for Helping New Jersey’s Eagles Thrive.

Thursday, August 4th, 2022

by Larissa Smith, CWF Biologist

New Jersey Eagle Project nest monitors Cathy and Jeff White have been volunteering with the program since 2009. The 2022 eagle nesting season was officially their last as they will be “retiring.” When they started with the bald eagle project, they had two eagle nests that they monitored in Southern New Jersey. As of 2022 they were monitoring 25 eagle nests. That is a lot of nests to keep straight! During their 14 years of observing nesting behavior to determine egg laying, hatching, and fledging, a total of 244 eagle chicks fledged from their nests. The Whites have witnessed the eagle population grow over the years and have played a large role in the success of the eagles, including many rescues of both chicks and adults. Their dedication to the eagles through both the good and bad outcomes, is commendable and they are irreplaceable.

They have done so much for the eagle project and will be greatly missed. Thank you!

Photos taken by the Whites throughout their years of monitoring eagle nests.

One Eagles Story: E/63

Saturday, January 29th, 2022

Resighting banded Bald Eagles

by Larissa Smith, CWF biologist

E/63 along Hackensack Jan. 28, 2022 photo by Lisa Katz

Each year biologists with NJ Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program & CWF venture out to eagle nests to band the chicks, take blood samples and measurements. The chicks are banded with a green NJ band that has a specific code and a silver federal band. At the time of banding the chicks are approximately six weeks old and have a few weeks left in the nest before they fledge. In 2018, we started to publish the re-sightings in the Annual Eagle Report. In 2022, we have already received quite a few re-sightings. E/63 is one of those eagles.

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A New Season of Wonder at Three Bridges Eagle Cam

Wednesday, December 8th, 2021

by Larissa Smith, CWF biologist

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.

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The 2021 NJ Eagle Nesting Season in photos

Friday, October 15th, 2021

By: Larissa Smith, CWF biologist

The 2021 New Jersey eagle nesting season was another good year for NJ’s eagle population. The final numbers and details will be available in the 2021 Annual Bald Eagle report published in December. There are over 100 eagle project volunteers who monitor eagle nests/s during the season. They are an extremely dedicated group who not only monitor eagle nests but help to protect the nests. Volunteers become familiar with their pairs and get to witness all kinds of eagle (and other wildlife) activity. I asked the volunteers to send me their one favorite photo from this season.

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Duke Farms Bald Eagles Hatch Two of Three Eggs

Thursday, March 11th, 2021

by Larissa Smith, Wildlife Biologist

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.

Watch the LIVE Duke Farms Eagle Cam by clicking here.

Read more about the New Jersey Eagle Project by clicking here.