A Bit of History
"Duke Farms is a 2,700-acre estate in Hillsborough, New Jersey, and is owned and supported by the Duke Farms Foundation. The mission of Duke Farms is to be a model of environmental stewardship in the 21st Century and inspire visitors to become informed stewards of the land. Duke Farms in Hillsborough, N.J., is one of the largest privately-owned parcels of undeveloped land in the state. The mission of Duke Farms is to serve as a model of environmental stewardship and inspire visitors to become informed stewards of the land. (© 2009 Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. All rights reserved.)
2005-2012
This eagle nest has been observed on the farm since 2005. This Eagle Cam was installed to provide researchers with an opportunity to monitor a pair of nesting Bald Eagles without any disturbance to the birds. It is being shared with the public to provide viewers with a glimpse of wildlife in its natural environment. In 2008 a camera was set up by Duke Farms in a neighboring sycamore tree 110 feet up, capturing footage of nesting seasons in 2009, 2010 and 2011. This camera permitted the public to get a unique glimpse of the nesting, feeding and fledgling of Bald Eagles in NJ. The camera was offline during the 2012 nesting season, but a biologist observed the nest with a spotting scope and reported that a chick fledged successfully.
Fall 2012 - Hurricane Sandy
In the late fall of 2012, the original nest, tree, and cam suffered considerable damage after battling sustained 90-mile-per-hour winds during Hurricane Sandy. The damage was discovered by Duke Farms staff members during ongoing damage assessment after the storm passed. Staff approached the 80-foot-tall nesting tree and found the large sycamore split in half and the crown (the branches and leaves) resting on the forest floor. Twigs and other remnants of the next were also found in the area. it appears that the Duke Farms eagle nest was the only casualty of Hurricane Sandy’s wrath. Conserve Wildlife of NJ stated that none other of the known 100 nests were adversely affected by the storm.
2013-2016
The original pair built a new nest in a sycamore tree 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. The nest is about 80 feet high in the tree. In the fall of 2013 the camera was moved to the new nest tree. 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. The pair fledged two chicks in 2013, 2015 and 2016. They raised three eaglets in 2014; the cam went offline shortly before the chicks were expected to fledge - we believe all three fledged successfully, but have no additional details.
2017
2017 was the only year the Duke Farms eagles have not laid an egg since the creation of the nest in 2004. It was disappointing for many who follow this nest. Between 2005 and 2016, we had 11 straight years of Bald Eagle nest productivity resulting in 23 Bald Eagles raised at Duke Farms. During the middle of February 2017, our “winning streak” came to an end (or we’d like to hope – a “pause”) when a very dominant intruding female started making a play to replace the current female. The timing of the harassment by the intruding female interrupted the couple’s mating behavior of courting, bonding. (From the Duke Farms Blog)
2018
The pair laid two eggs in 2018; one of the eggs appeared to burst or collapse March 23; it appeared to contain liquid, not a chick, so probably stopped developing early on. Unfortunately the bad luck continued - the second egg may have started to hatch March 24 but the chick was unable to complete the hatching process, though there was also an intruder and the egg may have been damaged; unlike the first egg, the second contained the body of a chick that was at least close to hatching age, visible through a hole in the side of the egg.
2019
The pair laid two eggs in 2019, both hatched, and both were banded. Green E/87(F) appeared to have an accidental fledge and was not seen again, though there was a search a few days later and staff continued to monitor the area. Green E/88(M) fledged successfully and continued to visit the nest and be fed there for another month, so E/87 would likely have returned to the nest if she survived. E/88 was given a transmitter and named "Duke" for tracking purposes; his tracker continued working until mid-April 2022, and a local observer who had been following his travels was able to locate him after it stopped working and confirmed that he was fine. Link to his map is
here.
2020-2022
There was a new female Bald Eagle in the Duke Farms nest for 2020. If you’ve been counting, this is the third female to occupy the nest at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey. The pair laid two eggs, and both chicks fledged. As of the end of the year, our resident serial monogamist male A59 (hatched in 2000) had sired 25 bald eagle chicks since the nest creation in 2004.
The pair produced three eggs in 2021, two of which hatched. Both chicks had an accidental fledge when they bumped into each other while branching when they were 79 and 75 days old. Both were seen flying afterward, so hopefully all went well.
There were two eggs in 2022 and both hatched, but the younger eaglet died when it was 8 days old; Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ felt that the eaglet had health problems about which we cannot know. The older eaglet fledged successfully and stayed in the area for another two months, leaving when he was over 20 weeks old.
2022-2023
The pair produced two eggs in 2023; both hatched, both eaglets fledged successfully, and both continued to be seen for over a month. On May 19th 2023 it was observed the Dad had gone MIA. Dad never returned
