By Juliet Kaszas-Hoch? The SandPaper
New Jersey’s bald eagles begin their courtships and nest improvements in early January, then lay eggs up until about early March, caring diligently for their young when they hatch several weeks later. And each year, the nonprofit Conserve Wildlife Foundation and the state Department of Environmental Protection – along with volunteers for the N.J. Bald Eagle Project – monitor and document the species.
The organizations have just released the 2021 N.J. Bald Eagle Project Report, and are pleased to announce the past year was another successful one for these birds of prey.
As CWF Biologist Larissa Smith noted in a blog post earlier this month, the statewide population of bald eagles has remained stable, with 247 nest sites. “Of these nests, 222 were active (with eggs), with 296 young produced,” she explained. In addition, 27 new eagle pairs were found
Smith added, “These numbers could not have been achieved or documented without the dedicated efforts of the 130 N.J. Eagle Project volunteers who conduct the majority of the nest observation work vital to tracking the population and nest distribution of our state’s bald eagles. CWF is honored to manage these volunteers in partnership with the (DEP’s) Endangered and Nongame Species Program, and thanks them for their invaluable service.”
To read the full 2021 bald eagle report, visit conservewildlifenj.org. The website also includes additional information on N.J. Bald Eagle Project, as well as live eagle cams. —J.K.-H.
