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!
>> Read our e-book: Duke Farms' Bald Eagles
2020 Duke Farms Eagle Cam
Egg 1- January 20th @4:15pm (expected hatch 2/24)
Egg 2-January 24th @10:28am (expected hatch 2/28)
1st chick- February 26th, 2020
2nd chick-March 1st, 2020
March 31, 2020
The oldest chick will be 5 weeks of age tomorrow and the youngest about 4.5 weeks of age. They are both getting plenty of food and getting big. You can see that the oldest chick is now developing pin feathers on his/her back and wings. The pin feathers are dark compared to the lighter colored down. The youngest chick is just starting to get a few pin feathers. Pin feathers are new feathers that have a blood supply flowing through them and are encased by a keratin coating or feather sheath. The feathers take several weeks to fully develop.
See the CWF blog for an update on "Duke" one of the fledges from last year's nest that we are currently tracking with a transmitter.
March 30, 2020
March 19, 2020
Today the male brought in some type of bird to the nest and proceeded to pull out the feathers, while the chicks patiently waited. The female then returned and fed the chicks. You can see there is a definite size difference between the two chicks.
March 19, 2020
March 10, 2020
March 10, 2020
Both chicks are doing well and getting plenty of food. At this age they spend a lot of time peeking out from under the adults protection or in a big ball of fluff. You can already see the change in the oldest's chicks down as it get's the darker gray second coat. It's hard to believe that at six weeks of age these two will have feathers and be almost adult size.
The Duke Farms nest was one of the earlier nests to hatch in NJ this season. So far 17 pairs have been reported to have hatched, while some pairs just recently started incubating.
We have been following Duke Farms Alumni D/94 "Tiny" who nests in CT with his mate D/15, another Duke Farms Alumni. I recently spoke with Cyndi Pratt Didan who monitors this pair in CT. She said that they are both around this year, but the nest has not been located.
March 2nd, 2020
Eagle cam viewers have noticed that the female seems to be have some difficulty feeding the chicks. She most likely is a first time Mom and is learning how to take care of them. The male is an experienced parent so she'll hopefully learn from watching him feed the chicks.
Zoom+ March 2, 2020
March 1st, 2020
The second egg has hatched. This morning the chick was half way out of the eggshell and by the afternoon was fully out. The adults will now be busy keeping these two growing chicks fed.
2nd chick has hatched; March 1st, 2020
February 27th 2020
The first egg has hatched! A pip was seen the morning of the 26th and the chick hatched during the night.
Zoom+ Pip at 5:05pm February 26th, 2020
Zoom+ first chick February 27, 2020
January 24, 2020
The second egg was laid at 10:28am.
Zoom+ First look at second egg 1/24/20
January 20, 2020
The first egg was laid on Monday January 20th, at 4:15!
This is very early for this pair to lay an egg. Last year the first egg was laid a month later on February 20th, 2019. But since this is a new female in the pair a change in incubation times isn't surprising. This incubation date is early for NJ eagles in general. Eagle Project Volunteers monitor over 200 eagle nests and at this time only 9 have been reported to be incubating.
Now we wait for the second egg to be laid.
Zoom+ First Glimpse of egg 5:42pm
The pair has been busy sprucing up the nest. In 2019 the pair started incubating on February 20th.
There is a new female currently in the pair. For details please read the DF Blog, Real Eagle Wives of New Jersey
The 2019 Duke Farm eagle cam updates are now in a word document which is found at the bottom of this page.
For the first time a transmitter was placed on a chick from the Duke Farms Eagle Cam nest.
Duke, NJ band E/88, was one of two chicks in the 2019 nest. The nest was visited by biologists on May 25th. During the visit the chicks were banded, measured and the transmitter was attached to Duke. He fledged on June 15th. He made his first move away from the nest area on August 12th. On August 24th he headed south to the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland. He spent September ranging around that area. He moved up to PA on October 15th and headed back to MD on October 19th, where he remains.
Duke's movements can be followed on Eagle Trax.
Duke Farms Eagle Cam FAQ’s
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?
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.
Zoom+ Duke Farms eagle nest camera.
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 25 eagle chicks have been raised and fledged from this nest since 2005.
2005- 1 chick
2006- 2 chicks
2007- 1 chick
2008- 2 chicks
2009- 3 chicks
2010- 2 chicks
2011- 2 chicks
2012- 1 chick
2013- 2 chicks
2014- 3 chicks
2015- 2 chicks
2016- 2 chicks
2017- didn't incubate
2018- failed, 2eggs
2019- 2 chicks
When do the birds start incubating?
In 2019, the pair started incubating on February 20th.
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.
Have any of the chicks been banded?
Yes, the chicks were banded in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014,2016 & 2019.
2007- 1 chick- male
2009- 3 chicks- males
2010- 2 chicks-females
2011- 2 chicks- males
2014- 3 chicks- 2 males, 1 female
2016- 2 chicks- females
2019- 2 chicks- 1 male, 1 female
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 2018 there were 204 nesting eagle pairs monitored in New Jersey. One hundred eighty-five of these were active (laid eggs) and 121 were successful in producing 172 young.
To learn more about eagles in New Jersey you can read the
Learn More:
 | 2019 Duke Farm Eagle Cam Updates - 1.7MB |
 | 2018 NJ Bald Eagle Project Report - 5.2MB |
| 2018 Duke Farms Eagle Cam Updates - 11KB |
| 2017 Bald Eagle Project Report - 937.9KB |
| 2017 Duke Farms Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 203.4KB |
| 2016 Bald Eagle Project Report - 1.4MB |
| 2016 Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 102.5KB |
| 2015 Bald Eagle Project Report - 2.2MB |
| 2015 Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 701.0KB |
| 2014 Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 210.8KB |
| 2014 Bald Eagle Project Report - 4.8MB |
| 2013 Bald Eagle Project Report - 1.0MB |
| 2013 EagleCam Nest Updates - 19.8KB |
| 2012 Bald Eagle Project Report - 1.3MB |
| 2011 EagleCam Nest Updates - 59.8KB |
| 2010 Eagle Cam Nest Updates - 31.0KB |
| Adopt a Species - Bald eagle - 197.5KB |
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!