Hillsborough’s Favorite Duo Welcomes Their First Eaglet of the Year!

High in a sycamore tree overlooking the Raritan River, just past the confluence of its north and south branches, a bald eagle bends low into a snow-rimmed nest and disappears into its own feathers. Wind rattles the branches. For a moment, the only sign of life is a flick of white head and yellow beak as the bird adjusts the precious cargo tucked beneath its breast: three eggs, laid on January 12, 15, and 18—the Duke Farms pair's full clutch for this year.

Unfortunately, on February 20th, one of the three eggs failed in the nest, following viewers' concerns of a potential crack or seep in the eggshell. The parent removed the egg from the nest bowl and continued incubating the remaining two eggs.

Eagle egg failures can happen for a number of reasons. Fertilization issues, genetic defects, problems during embryo development, or adverse conditions during incubation can all result in an egg that never hatches. Similar failures were recorded in 2011 and 2021 at this location and are not at all uncommon in nests around the country.

This is a nest that has successfully produced offspring for decades and drawn millions of viewers during that time. It does so in a very different world from the one that existed merely 60 years ago, when bald eagles were nearly erased from the state.

From One Lonely Nest to a Statewide Comeback

In the 1970s and early 1980s, bald eagles in New Jersey and around the country were on the edge of disappearing. Decades of inadequately researched, and yet widespread, pesticide use left habitats contaminated with DDT and its even more potent breakdown products. This insecticide, harmful enough to beneficial insect populations, came with the added side-effect of interrupting calcium metabolism and causing fatal eggshell thinning in predatory birds. By the early 1980s, surveys found only a single active bald eagle nest in the entire state, and that nest failed repeatedly because the eggs could not survive incubation. 

The story turned only after a set of specific, science-driven regulations. First New Jersey, then the federal government, banned the use of DDT, gradually reducing new inputs of the chemical into water and sediment. Strong water quality laws and habitat protections began to detoxify major rivers and bays. Biologists from the Fish and Wildlife Division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), along with partner organizations, initiated direct restoration work: importing chicks from healthier populations, fostering them in local nests, and shielding nesting territories from disturbance.

From that single, failing nest, New Jersey’s population has climbed steadily. The 2024 New Jersey Bald Eagle Project Report, prepared by NJDEP Fish and Wildlife and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, documented 293 nest sites, a record 264 active nests that laid eggs, and 288 fledglings. That amounts to an average of 1.2 young per active nest. On the strength of those numbers, the state took the symbolic and meaningful step of formally downgrading the bald eagle' status from "endangered" to "special concern" on January 6, 2025. Bald eagles now nest in every New Jersey county, including places like suburban Hillsborough where such a sight would have been unthinkable 40 years ago. 

The Duke Farms pair is a part of that recovery curve. This nest has produced multiple broods since it was first discovered on the property and later fitted with a camera. Over two decades, at least two dozen eaglets have fledged from Duke Farms, joining the growing statewide population. 

Today's Tests: Poisons, Wires, and Viruses 

Recovery from this one threat has not made bald eagles invulnerable. The pressures they face today are different from the DDT crisis, but just as real. 

Development and Habitat Loss

Shrinking and disturbed habitat continues to be a chronic pressure. Bald eagles prefer tall structures near open water, with nearby forest or marsh edge for hunting and roosting. In a densely developed state like New Jersey, that kind of habitat is limited. Shoreline building, tree removal along rivers, and human recreation in nesting areas can all reduce breeding success by forcing pairs to abandon otherwise suitable sites or by increasing disturbance during incubation and chick-rearing. NJDEP’s own status reviews have cited nest disturbance and habitat loss as central reasons they kept the eagle on the state endangered list long after federal delisting. 

Collisions and Infrastructure

Collisions and infrastructure add another layer of risk, with over half of documented mortalities in New Jersey attributed to collisions or power line electrocutions in 2024. For a bird with a wingspan over two meters, the airspace is increasingly cluttered by vehicles on bridges, train, wires, towers, and other tall structures. Mortality records compiled by state biologists and rehabilitation centers routinely include eagles struck by vehicles or injured by wires. In a robust population, these individual losses may not alter statewide trends, but they can end the breeding careers of experienced adults and reduce output from specific territories. 

Avian Influenza (HPAI H5N1)

The most dramatic new threat of the past few years is the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza, HPAI H5N1, in North American wild birds. Bald eagles, as apex predators and scavengers, are exposed when they feed on infected waterfowl and other birds. A 2023 study in Scientific Reports documented fatal, systemic H5N1 infections in breeding adult and nestling bald eagles along the southeastern United States coast and linked the outbreak to sharp drops in nest success. Nest success decreases of 40 to 60 percent have been reported in some Georgia counties during peak outbreak years, evidence that disease can temporarily override even strong recovery trends in hard-hit regions.

New Jersey has not seen that level of collapse, but the ingredients are all there: wintering waterfowl, migrating shorebirds, and predators like the Duke Farms pair at the top of the local food web. Each carcass they scavenge is both a meal and, in an HPAI year, a potential exposure.

Read more about the recent rise in avian influenza cases, Duke Farms' response, and steps you can take.

Lead Contamination

One invisible, but pervasive, modern threat is lead poisoning. Eagles consume lead either while scavenging tissues left in the field from animals shot with lead ammunition or from fish that came into contact with lead tackle. Blood and tissue surveys across the species’ range repeatedly find elevated lead levels in a large fraction of sampled birds, and modeling studies show that even modest increases in lead-related mortality can slow population growth. Clinically, lead poisoning can look like clumsiness, weakness, and impaired vision, all of which can make a large, soaring predator that much more likely to collide with a car, building, or power line. 

Winter's Many Challenges 

As the 2026 nesting season began, the Duke Farms eagles faced another kind of obstacle: weather. The female laid her first egg on January 12 at 2:50 p.m., the second on January 15, and the third on January 18, during a snowstorm clearly visible on the live camera. State climatologists described January 2026 as cold and snowy in their monthly roundup, with multiple winter storms sweeping across New Jersey and freezing conditions on rivers and reservoirs. 

For nesting birds, the storm headlines translate into biology. Eggshells must be kept within a tight temperature range: prolonged exposure to sub-freezing air can kill an embryo. Snow and ice reduce access to open water and fish, forcing adults to work harder and travel farther to find food between incubation shifts. Heavy, wet snow loading branches stresses the nest structure itself. 

While severe cold is always a physiological stressor, bald eagles, whose breeding range extends well past central Alaska, are no strangers to winter conditions. Observers watched as the Duke Farms female sat motionless while snow accumulated on her back, later joined by her mate as they exchanged incubation duties in the wind. At one point she incubated through more than a foot of snow in the area, maintaining contact with the eggs even as drifts built up around the nest rim. This behavior, refusing to leave the nest bowl for long and keeping the eggs constantly covered, is what allows bald eagles to breed successfully in northern climates. Thick plumage, large body size, and high metabolic capacity give adults the tools to ride out short, intense storms without losing the next generation.  

As we welcome this year's eaglets, we will continue to update you on their progress. Stay warm out there!