Duke Farms Eagle Cam
Welcome to the Eagle Cam, a collaboration with Duke Farms, to help raise awareness for nesting bald eagles in New Jersey.
Bald Eagles are extremely sensitive to human disturbance. At no time should anyone approach nesting eagles. People who want to observe or photograph eagles and who come too close may actually cause the birds to abandon a nest.
Located on Duke Farms in central New Jersey, the Eagle Cam allows viewers an up close and personal view into the lives of a pair of bald eagles as they breed, incubate, and raise young. It is a perfect tool for teaching about wildlife and covers a variety of topics including animal behavior, bird biology and natural history, endangered species, food webs, contamination, and MORE!
2023 Nesting Season
1st egg laid 1/20- hatched 2/27
2nd egg laid 1/23- hatched 2/28
September 22, 2023
Diane Cook reports that the pair has been making regular appearances at the nest, usually in the early moning. On the 17th, she was able to get a screenshot that shows the male with no bands on his legs. It looks like this a new male and not A59 (the previous male). The female brought a stick to the nest which is a good sign that the pair will rebuild the nest.
Zoom+ Sept. 17th, 2023
Zoom+ September 17th, 2023
August 30th, 2023
On August 23rd, nest monitor Diane Cook, noted that a pair of eagles were briefly in the nest and then flew up to a branch to perch.
Then on August 29th the pair was back at the nest and proceeded to copulate. Diane couldn't get a clear view to confirm if the male was banded or not. We do not know if this is the same female from last season or if the male is A/59 or a new bird. Either way a pair is taking interest in the nest and bonding.
Zoom+ August 23rd, 2023
Zoom+ August 23rd, 2023
Zoom+ Copulating; August 29th, 2023
August 11th, 2023
Nest monitor Diane Cook keeps an eye on the cam. She reports that, "The last 2 mornings 2 adult eagles visited the remains of the nest. Looking at them this morning, side by side, it does appear there was 1 female (left in the screen shot) and 1 male. He arrived first, about 6:13, landing on the branch. About 1 minute later, she landed in the nest, and he made his way down to her. It was peaceful and quiet. She left first, followed by him." She was not able to confirm if the male was banded. We are waiting to see if A/59 returns. It is good news that two adults are at the nest and will hopefully rebuild for next season.
August 10th, 2023
June 24th, 2023
Yesterday morning the Duke Farms nest collapsed in several sections. Nest Monitor, Diane Cook reports that the nest looked lopsided around 6:30 am. "About 9:19 the female flies in with a nice sized fish, followed by both eaglets. One landed solidly but the other appeared to fall off and fly away. Then both only the adult was left. One returned seconds later and the adult flew off. At 9:50:48 the 2nd eaglet lands in the nest on the left edge. After some pushing you can see the entire side of the nest give away from under the eaglet. You could see it fly off. It was back at 9:54ish and flew down for the steal of leftovers." The juveniles have both seen since then are fine.
Collapsed nest June 24th, 2023
This is not an uncommon occurence with eagles nests. Nests that are used for many years get very large and heavy. Every year a few nests fall or in some cases the entire nest tree falls. Depending what time of the nesting season this occurs it can result in chicks being injured or killed. The fact the nest has collapsed after the juveniles were fledged is a good thing. They have been fledged for over a month, haven't been seen at the nest as frequently and will soon be going off on their own. We'll have to wait and see what will happen with the nest. The adults could try and rebuild the nest or move to a new nest tree.
Read about an eagle nest collapse and renest this season; Eaglets Get a New Nest
May 22nd, 2023
Both of the chicks fledged today. The first one left at 5:41am and second one took flight at 6:30am. They are now officially juvenile eagles. They both returned to the nest and are perched there this evening.
1st fledge May 22nd
2nd fledge. May 22nd
May 19th, 2023
The chicks are now almost 12 weeks of age. They are very active, walking around the nest, flapping, hovering and branching. Today one was branched and the second chick flew up and perched next to it's sibling. They will take their first flight soon. So far three eagle chicks have been reported to have fledged from NJ nests.
Branching May 19, 2023
Zoom+ May 16th, 2023
May 16th, 2023
May 6th, 2023
The will be ten weeks old on Monday! Eagle nest monitor Diane Cooks, captured these screen shots that show a closeup view of the chicks. They have dark bill and eyes, which will turn yellow as they reach maturity at 5 years. The chicks are now the size of the adults. Diane captured video of the smaller chick running around the nest and flapping. They have perched out on the branch. Eagle chicks usually fledge between 10 to 12 weeks of age. All their activity in the nest is strengthing their wing muscles for flight.
Zoom+ May 5th 2023
Zoom+ May 5th, 2023
April 15th, 2023
The chicks are almost seven weeks old. They are very active, stretching their wings. walking around the nest and looking out over the edge of the nest. While they still have some down left, they are getting more fully feathered.
April 15th, 2023
April 14th, 2023
April 6th, 2023
The chicks are interesting to watch as they interact with each other. NJ Eagle Project volunteer, Diane Cook captured these screen shots.
April 4th, 2023
Zoom+ April 4th, 2023
April 4th, 2023
April 4th, 2023
The two chicks are 5 weeks old and they are getting big quickly. This screen shot shows them lounging on this warm evening. Their pin feathers are emerging. You can see how large their feet are getting.
April 4th, 2023
We have been asked about banding the chicks this season. Unfortunatley the chicks will not be banded. The former climber retired and we don't yet have a replacement. The climber not only needs to be trained in climbing a tree and manuerving around the nest but also handling raptors. The safety of the eagles and nest comes first. Thank you for understanding.
March 20th, 2023
The chicks are now three weeks old and are getting their second coat of gray down. There has been typical sibling rivalry between the two, but both are getting plenty of food, enjoying being out from the under the adults and spending time in the sunshine.
March 20th, 2023
March 8, 2023
The two chicks are just a little over a week old. The adults are bringing in plenty of food to feed both and have a nice cache of prey items in the nest. Because the chicks are so close in age, the size difference isn't very noticeable. The two chicks do fight but they can both hold their own and sibling riviary is normal.
Eagle Project volunteers, Diane Cook, put together this video of the two chicks fighting when it's feeding time.
She also put together an interesting and funny video of the adults squabbaling over who will brood the chicks.
Adults both want to brood the chicks
February 28th, 2023
the second chick has hatched
second chick hatched: February 28th, 2023
The first chick was being fed this morning and a hole was seen in the second egg.
chick and egg with pip; February 28th 7:43am
The first chick emerged from the egg shell around 1:14pm February 27th, 2023
1st chick almost out of egg shell: February 27, 2023
The egg has a pip
Pip February 27, 2023
February 17th, 2023
The first egg is due to hatch next Friday the 24th. Today there was a visitor to the nest, an immature eagle. The immature flew in around 1:35pm. The male was visibilly upset and got up and resettled on the eggs. The immature perched on the branch above the nest until 2:10pm when the female flew into the nest and chased the immature eagle away. The immature had goregeous plummage and a close up by Duke Farms cam operator showed that the bill is still dark but the eye color is begining to lighten, probaby around 2 years of age. The immature is still a few years away from being mature and staking out a territory. Perhaps it just curious about the nest. It didn't display any aggressive action. Nest monitors throughout New Jersey report seeing immature eagles around active nests fairly frequently.
immature eagle vists nests February 17th 2023
Close up of immature eagle; February 17thm 2023
January 23rd
The second egg was laid today at 2:20pm
2nd egg, January 23rd at 2:20pm
January 23rd, 2023
January 20th
View of the first egg on January 20, 2023.
The first egg was laid on January 20th at 3:57pm.
DUKE FARMS EAGLE CAM FAQS
How long have eagles been nesting at Duke Farms?
The eagle nest at Duke Farms was first discovered in the fall of 2004. The pair started using the nest in 2005. In the fall of 2012 Hurricane Sandy's 70+ mph tore off the upper half of the nest tree, destroying the nest completely (the camera and camera tree were spared). The pair built a new nest 100ft south of the eagle camera in late December 2012. The view of the nest was limited by branches and leaves during the 2013 nesting season.
In what type of tree is the nest located?
In December 2012 the pair built a new nest in a sycamore tree.
How high is the nest?
The nest is about 80 feet high.
How long has the camera been at the nest?
Zoom+ Duke Farms eagle nest camera.
The camera was set up in 2008 and transmitted the picture beginning in March 2008. In the fall of 2013 the camera was moved to the new nest tree.
Where is the camera located?
The camera is in the nest tree positioned above to view the nest from above. The camera can be maneuvered remotely to pan, tilt and zoom.
How many young have been raised in this nest?
A total of 32 eagle chicks have been raised and fledged from this nest since 2005.
- 2005 - 1
- 2006 - 2
- 2007 - 1
- 2008 - 2
- 2009 - 3
- 2010 - 2
- 2011 - 2
- 2012 - 1
- 2013 - 2
- 2014 - 3
- 2015 - 2
- 2016 - 2
- 2017 - didn't incubate
- 2018 - failed, 2 eggs
- 2019 - 2
- 2020 - 2
- 2021 - 2
- 2022 - 1
- 2023 - 2
When do the birds start incubating?
Over the past couple years the pair has typically began incubation in mid-late January. In 2021 and 2022, the pair started incubating on January 17 and in 2020 and 2023 they began incubation on January 20, 2023.
Are the adult eagles banded?
In 2009 and 2010 it was noted that both the male and female were NJ- banded birds, because they each had a green color band on one leg and a silver federal band on the other.
In 2011, however, there was a new female in the pair, which we know because she was not banded.
In 2020 there was a new unbanded female in the pair. In addition to behavior changes, close up views of the eyes showed a difference between the old and new female's iris.
Have any of the chicks been banded?
Yes, the chicks were banded in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014,2016 & 2019 & 2022
- 2007 - 1 male
- 2009 - 3 males
- 2010 - 2 females
- 2011 - 2 males
- 2014 - 2 males, 1 female
- 2016 - 2 females
- 2019 - 1 male, 1 female
- 2022 - 1 male
- 2023 - not banded
How is the eagle cam funded?
Duke Farms hosts the eagle camera and the internet connection. The Endangered and Nongame Species Program and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ support their work and conduct the on-site banding and provide biological consulting.
How many eagle nests are in NJ?
In 2022 there were 267 nesting eagle pairs monitored in New Jersey. Two hundred fifty of these were active (laid eggs) and 197 were successful in producing 335 young.
Learn More:
Duke Farm Eagle Cam Update Archives:
Duke Farms 2021-2022 Eagle Cam Updates
Duke Farms 2020 Eagle Cam Updates
 | 2019 Duke Farm Eagle Cam Updates - 1.7MB |
| 2018 Duke Farms Eagle Cam Updates - 11KB |
 | 2017 Duke Farms Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 203.4KB |
| 2015 Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 701.0KB |
| 2014 Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 210.8KB |
| 2013 EagleCam Nest Updates - 19.8KB |
| 2011 EagleCam Nest Updates - 59.8KB |
| 2010 Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 31.0KB |
Find Related Info: Bald Eagles, Raptors
The Return of Bald Eagles in New Jersey Story Map
Use interactive web-mapping and multi-media to learn about the recovery of bald eagles in New Jersey between 1985 & 2015.
Educators!
Download lesson plans and activities to enhance your use of the EagleCam in the classroom! Download fun facts about bald eagles, activities about raptors, journaling pages for students, and MUCH MORE!