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.
NOTICE: On 4/30/2020, 8:30 pm a storm passed through and Duke Farms lost power. On 5/1 Charles Barreca from DF, went out to check on the junction box by the road. He confirmed the that the nest tree, adults and eaglets are fine. The issue with the cam is most likely at the nest tree. The chicks are nine weeks of age and it is too risky for someone to walk to the nest, the chicks could jump and fall from the nest prematurely. It's disappointing, but the well being of the chicks is the most important thing. Thank you!
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
May 8th, 2020
It's disappointing that the cam will be off for the rest of the season, but we are lucky to see the chicks hatch and grow for eight weeks.
Came Viewer Ed Huntress reached out to me with some interesting data about prey items this season. Ed kept records of what the DF eagles were eating from Feb. 1st until April 15th.
Ed states, "We didn't miss many; people were reporting several times each day and I scrolled back when I heard of each one, to check the species, so this is a pretty complete list. We're missing one of the big series -- lampreys -- which usually starts about now. The trout started when stocking began in the Raritan, although one large one appeared earlier. The first fish was a smallmouth bass, which appeared before the eggs hatched. The eggs were laid early, before any runs of fish, which is where the gray squirrels and voles came from. Suckers spawn in very shallow water. As soon as they began their runs, they were easy targets for the eagles." Below are his findings
Duke Farms Eagle Nest Prey Items 2020
Smallmouth bass (6)
White sucker (37)
Bluegill sunfish (3)
Pumpkinseed sunfish (1)
American eel (1)
Yellow bullhead (1)
Brown bullhead (1)
White perch (1)
Crappie (1)
Rainbow trout (28) (first one Mar. 12, and a flood after Mar. 24))
Gray squirrel (7)
American shad (2)
Unknown sunfish (1)
Unknown, river herring or shad (2)
Unknown fish (7)
Vole (15)
Bird (2) one large and black - coot?
The first bass appeared in early February. Once the eggs hatched, Feb. 26 and Mar. 1, the adults started bringing food to the nest steadily: first three voles and four squirrels, and then the fish. One sucker appeared in late Feb., but most of the white suckers appeared beginning on Mar. 7: three or four in one day. Two squirrels then appeared on 3-13. The shad showed up the same day. The 4th vole appeared on 3-15. Fifth vole appeared on 3-16. Six and seven on 3-18.
April 20, 2020
Zoom+ April 20, 2020
Both adults made an appearance together in the nest today. The chicks looked on as the adults ate and then took their turn eating.
April 17, 2020
Zoom+ April 17, 2020
The chicks are now almost seven weeks of age. In this photo it's difficult to tell them apart and they look like a big pile of feathers. When they stand up you can see that they still have some down on their bellies and legs. Normally the chicks would be banded at six weeks of age, but due to COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing, no banding this year. You can follow "Duke" one of last year's chicks who we are tracking. He has been hanging out along the Susquahenna River.
April 12th, 2020
Zoom+ intruder in nest 4/11/20
Yesterday, nest monitor Diane Cook reported that there was an immature eagle intruder in the nest around 9:13am. This is Diane's account "A shadow could be seen over the nest. Shortly after both chicks became alarmed, stood up with wings out, and began yelling. An immature eagle flew into the nest. There were several fish in the nest at the time, and the immature eagle seemed more interested in the fish than the chicks. It only stayed about 30 seconds or so before flying off. The chicks remained on alert. Chick 1 took up a defensive posture, with chick 2 under it. It called for less than 10 minutes before the female showed up. She had a large stick with her. Chick 1 continue to vocalize while the female placed the stick. She then turned her attention to the chicks. She also began looking around at that point, and began vocalizing herself. Chick 1 stood next to her his its head down. Chick 2 remained laying down in the center of the nest. She finally flew off. Chick 1 stood again, taking up a watchful posture. Both chicks finally settled down in the nest again a little over 10 minutes later. Adults did not return to the nest until later."
April 9, 2020
Zoom+ 4/9/20
What a difference a week makes! The oldest chick is six weeks of age and his back, head and wings are almost fully feathered. He was flapping his wings today and walking around the nest. Both chicks were pecking at a fish carcass and self feeding. The adults will spend less time at the nest as the chicks get older, but even if they aren't in view of the camera one is most likely perched nearby.
March 31, 2020
March 30, 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 19, 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 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
Zoom+ March 2, 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.
March 1st, 2020
2nd chick has hatched; 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.
February 27, 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?
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 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.
Learn More
Adopt a Species - Bald Eagle:
 | Adopt a Species - Bald eagle - 197.5KB |
Bald Eagle Project Reports:
| 2019 NJ Bald Eagle Project Report - 1.1MB |
| 2018 NJ Bald Eagle Project Report - 5.2MB |
| 2017 Bald Eagle Project Report - 937.9KB |
| 2016 Bald Eagle Project Report - 1.4MB |
| 2015 Bald Eagle Project Report - 2.2MB |
| 2014 Bald Eagle Project Report - 4.8MB |
| 2013 Bald Eagle Project Report - 1.0MB |
| 2012 Bald Eagle Project Report - 1.3MB |
| 2011 Bald Eagle Project Report - 842.7KB |
| 2010 Bald Eagle Project Report - 534.7KB |
| 2009 Bald Eagle Project Report - 430.8KB |
Duke Farm 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!