Bald Eagles of Mercer County
Welcome to the “Bald Eagles of Mercer County”, where we celebrate the all-American recovery of the bald eagle in Mercer County, New Jersey. Wiped out from the county just a few decades ago, Mercer County now holds four nesting pairs of bald eagles – including two pairs in Mercer County’s park system!
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.
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Located in Mercer County Park in West Windsor, New Jersey, this cam sits atop a former bald eagle nest near Mercer Lake. While there is not currently a nesting pair here, numerous bald eagles have been using this nest as a roost and feeding perch. Other wildlife visits as well, including a brave raccoon seen sleeping in the nest just a few weeks ago! The cam also frequently captures eagles flying and roosting in the distance between the nest and the lake.
Made possible through the generous support of PSE&G, the Mercer County Eagle Cam is a partnership between Mercer County Parks, Conserve Wildlife Foundation, and the Wildlife Center Friends.
Join us for the the second year of “Eyes on Eagles” programming to celebrate the four pairs of bald eagles that nest in Mercer County, including two pairs that have chosen County parks for nest sites.
Building on the success of last year’s program, viewing programs will be held throughout the spring nesting season. The first free public event will be on Monday, Feb. 17, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the West Picnic Area of Mercer County Park.
“Eyes on Eagles” bald eagle viewings will be held on the second Sunday and fourth Friday of the month, from 1 to 3 p.m., through May 10, 2020. Naturalists and guides will be on hand to help the public safely view bald eagles, providing binoculars and spotting scopes for a closer look.
2020 Mercer County Eagle Updates
April 2, 2020
The Mercer Co. Park eagle nest has hatched. On April 1st, nest monitor, Kevin Buynie, saw a feeding session. Chicks usually won't be seen in the nest until about 2 weeks of age.
Zoom+ Mercer Co 4/1/20 adults@Buynie
Zoom+ Mercer Co, 4/1/20@Buynie
The two chicks at the second Mercer Co Parks nest are now six weeks old.
Mercer Meadows, 2 chicks 4/1/20@ Buynie
March 26, 2020
The Mercer pair continues to incubate and hopefully by the next update there will be hatching. Incubation started on February 24th, so hatching should be approximately around March 30th.
The 2nd Mercer Co nest has two chicks which are now five weeks of age and the oldest is developing pin feathers. Thanks to the nest monitors the Buynie's for keeping us update.
Mercer Co 3/24/20 @ Buynie
March 11th, 2020
The Mercer Co. GC pair continues to incubate, hatching is expected the last week in March.
The second nest located on Mercer County property has two chicks that are three weeks old. Nest Monitors Kevin and Karin Buynie took this photo of one of the chicks.
Pennington March 9, 2020@Buynie
March 4, 2020
The Mercer Co pair continues to incubate. Nest monitor Kevin Buynie captured a great shot of the female coming in for a landing. A second pair on Mercer Co property already hatched and a chick has been seen.
Coming in for a landing March 2, 2020@K. Buynie
February 25, 2020
INCUBATION
Nest Monitor Kevin Buynie reported incubation on February 24th. Incubation lasts ~ 35 days. Eagles can lay 1 to 3 eggs and they are laid a few days apart. Now that incubation has started an adult will be on the nest most of the time. Though there can be brief periods, especially on warmer days, where the adults are off the eggs. But one will always be close by the nest.
2/24/20 incubation@ Buynie
Kevin witnessed a juvenile eagle attempt to land twice on the nest, only to realize that an adult was occuping the nest. The juvenile then landed on a nearby tree to perch and the female continued incubating.
2/24/20 Juvenile attempts to land at occupied nest @ Buynie
Please note: this photo was taken by the NJ Eagle Project Nest Monitor with a high powered lens so that the eagles weren't disturbed. Please respect eagles and don't approach them or nests.
February 5, 2020
The last update of the 2019 season was that the nest had collapsed in the beginining of July. We were hopeful that the pair would return to the old nest where the eagle cam is located. But these are some determined birds and they worked hard to rebuild last year's nest. The nest looks to be much stronger this year. The pair is in the area but not yet incubating.
Mercer Co GC rebuilt nest 1/27/20@ Buynie
2019 Mercer County Eagle Updates
July 8, 2019
The second chick has fledged from the Mercer nest. E/89 and his sibling were both seen at the nest perched together, in the photo below, E/89 is on the right, we suspect his sibling is female due to her larger size. The nest is falling as seen in the photos below. On July 1st the nest was still fairly upright but by July 7th it had fallen substantially, most likely due to the heavy rains. The good news is that both chicks are fledged.
Hopefully the pair will use the old nest with the eagle cam next season.
Thank you to Kevin and Karin Buynie who monitored this pair.
Zoom+ Mercer nest 7/1/19
Zoom+ 7/7/19 siblings @K. Buynie
7/7/19 flying@K.Buynie
July 2, 2019
E/89 fledged on Friday the 28th. Yesterday nest monitor, Kevin Buynie, photographed him perched and flying near this season's nest. He reports that the remaning chick is very active jumping around the nest and should be fledging soon.
7/1/19 E/89 perched@K. Buynie
7/1/19 E/89, flying@K. Buynie
7/1/19 Mercer nest @ K.Buynie
June 27th, 2019
Nest monitor Kevin Buynie reports that the chick remaining in the active nest is doing well and branching. E/89 is out of camera view this morning, perched above the nest.
June 26, 2019 Mercer chick branching.
June 25th, 2019
This morning, the chick that was at Mercer Wildlife Center since being found on the ground June 12th, was re-nested. He was placed in the old nest from the 2018 nesting season and can now be seen on the nest cam. This old nest and the current nest, with his sibling, are close together, so the adults will be able to bring food to both nests.
He was banded with both a federal(silver) band and a green NJ state band, E/89.
Zoom+ talons@K. Buynie
Zoom+ bands@K. Buynie
Zoom+ John Heilferty climbing nest tree@K. Buynie
Zoom+ @K. Buynie
Zoom+ Chick at nest@K. Buynie
Zoom+ Chick going up to nest in bag@K. Buynie
June 20, 2019
The chick continues to do well at Mercer Wildlife Center. He is a male which was confirmed by measurements. They are waiting for him to gain some more weight and eat on his own before renesting. We're hoping on getting him back up in the nest next week.
Nest Monitor's Kevin and Karin Buynie report that the second chick, still in the nest, has been active; preening, standing and flapping it's wings.
June 19, 2019, Mercer Wildlife Center
June 13, 2019
Yesterday nest monitor Kevin Buynie went out to check on the Mercer eagle nest. He saw one chick in the nest and was waiting to see the second when he heard calling. He saw that the second chick was perched on a log on the ground. The chicks are about eight weeks old, so they still have a few more weeks until they fledge. Being on the ground leaves the chick vulnerable to predation.
Kevin, who is experienced with handling eagles, took the chick to the Mercer County Wildlife Center. At the center it was examined and determined that there were no injuries. The chick is underweight, so will stay at the center until he is up to a normal weight. At that point a decision will be made on how to renest the chick. Thank you to Kevin and Mercer Wildlife Center for helping to give this young eagle a second chance.
Chick found on ground 6/12/19@K. Buynie
June 12, 2019 @K. Buynie
June 9, 2019
The chicks are eight weeks of age and getting big. Nest monitor Kevin Buynie got the following shots of both chicks in the nest. You'll notice a turtle shell caught on the outside of the nest, turtles seem to be a favorite food for eagles. The other photo shows one of the chicks stretching it's wings, which reveals the still fuzzy legs and feather sheaths under the wings.
June 9, 2019
June 9, 2019
May 22, 2019
The chicks are now five weeks old and are getting their pin feathers. You can see in the below photo the dark feathers starting to come in along their back and wings. The photo gives a nice view of the chicks full crop. (the crop is a pouch on the chest where extra food is stored).
May 17, 2019@ K&K Buynie
May 16, 2019
The chicks are now just over four weeks of age. Nest monitor Kevin Buynie took this photo of the two chicks sitting in the nest. They now have their second coat of dark gray down. The second photo is of the female bringing a small fish to the nest.
May 11, 2019 @K. Buynie
May 11, 2019 @K. Buynie
April 30th, 2019
The pair built a new nest in 2019 in a different tree then where the eagle cam is located. The pair started incubating on March 8th and hatched on April 16th. The nest monitors have reported two chicks in the nest. As of today the chicks are approximately two weeks of age.
The male in this pair is a NJ banded bird. He has a green state band D/47 on his left leg. That specific combination tells us that he was banded on April 13, 2012 at the Prospertown nest.
The below photo shows the banded male bringing prey to the nest. If you look closely in the second photo you will see the fuzzy head of a chick between the adults.
Please note: this photo was taken by the NJ Eagle Project Nest Monitor with a high powered lens so that the eagles weren't disturbed. Please respect eagles and don't approach them or nests.
Mercer nest April 16th, 2019. Kevin & Karin Buynie
Mercer eagle nest April 23,2019. Kevin & Karin Buynie
Stay tuned for regular updates from our biologists and educators on the nesting eagles of Mercer County.
Post your own observations and comments below!
And calling all photographers – post your photos of bald eagles nesting, flying, perching, or feeding in Mercer County. (Remember – never approach a bald eagle nest! Disrupting them at an active nest may result in the nest failing and young perishing).
- Bald Eagle Life History
- NJ Eagle Trax - Bald Eagle Tracking Project
- NJ Bald Eagle Monitoring Project
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