by Larissa Smith: CWF Biologist
Some of New Jersey’s eagle pairs are getting an early start on the 2019 nesting season. Eagles in NJ will begin incubation anywhere from January through March. NJ Eagle Project volunteers usually report eagles back and working on the their nests in the late fall/early winter. But some pairs have already been spotted sprucing up their nests in preparation for the upcoming nesting season.
Kettle Creek 9/27/18@Alex Tongas
Overpeck 10/24/18@D.M. De Santis
Guest Blogger, Diane Cook: NJ Eagle Project Volunteer & Duke Farms nest monitor
Nature can be awe inspiring and beautiful. Watching a powerful bald eagle gently offer food to a newly hatched chick is amazing. Cheering awkward chicks walking on wobbly legs, and holding your breath when they take that first flight are the events live cam viewers look forward to year after year.
Duke Farms nest-2016
We are reminded of the harsh realities of nature too. Nest fails can and do happen. Many things can go wrong: storms, predators in the nest, or conflicts with other eagles and territorial disputes. Watching it happen live, can be heartbreaking. Every event is a learning experience for us all.
There is a sad ending this year at the Duke Farms nest. It was hard to see the adult pair defending their nest from younger interlopers again. Harder still was actually witnessing the failure of both eggs. Hatching is a complicated business. We’ve been fortunate to have many years of success. As watchers, we must take the good with the bad. This is nature after all.
So what do we do now? My love of nature and the bald eagle will have me seeking out other live cams, but missing my local wild family. I will remember the successes of past years. I will stare in amazement as I look up into the sky to watch a bald eagle soaring overhead.
Duke Farms- 2016
Life will go on. The cycle will continue, if not in “my” nest, in another. Nature will find its balance. Thank you to Duke Farms and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ for bringing us the live cam. Thank you to the state biologists who work every day to preserve and protect the wildlife in our state.
See you next year for a new eagle nesting season.
A sign of success. CWF Volunteer Matt T. atop the newly constructed peregrine falcon nesting tower on Bonnet Island, Stafford Twp., NJ. The 16′ tower was built from locally grown white cedar and installed for a pair who formally nested beneath the Route 72 Causeway Bridge. photo by Ben Wurst
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
An osprey prepares to land on a natural nest. Barnegat Bay, NJ.
Since we began to work more closely with ospreys in 2006, we have documented the population grow beyond the historic population estimate of 350-450 nesting pairs (Henny 1977) to a new historic milestone. In 2017, a total of 668 active nests were recorded during a statewide census of nesting ospreys, which is well above the post-DDT milestone of 500 nesting pairs, and show that the population continues to grow. This is the second census conducted without the use of manned aircraft since 2009 after all known osprey nests were released and mapped online in 2013. Despite the lack of aircraft, we’re still able to obtain an accurate representation of the size and health of the statewide population, while reducing the overall project cost. (more…)
Incubation!
By: Larissa Smith, CWF, Wildlife Biologist
NJ eagle pair 12/28/17@Randy G. Lubischer
The NJ Eagle season has officially begun. Nest monitors reported incubation on January 15th at two bald eagle nests in Burlington and Salem Counties.
Now is the best of time of year to see eagles in New Jersey since there are both resident and wintering eagles around the state.
The Cumberland County Winter Eagle Festival
CWF will be at the festival on February 3rd. There are presentations, walks, viewing sites and exhibitors. It’s a great way to learn about NJ’s eagles and other raptors.
To learn more about the NJ Bald Eagle Project
© 2019 Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey