Fall/Winter Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 8:30AM-4:30PM.
Parking passes are required on Saturdays.
The Orientation Center and Cafe are open Thursdays – Saturdays.
The property is closed to the public on Sundays and Mondays.
Explore 1,000+ acres of land and discover wildlife, sustainability efforts and the property’s natural beauty.
Over 1,000 acres open for discovery, outdoor engagement and environmental education
Browse our library of industry professional research and resources for educators.
Read up on the ecological and stewardship research done on-site
Activities, lesson plans and resources created to inspire and educate learners of all ages
Duke Farms is a place of engagement, enjoyment and research.
Duke Farms is a 2,700-acre environmental center in Hillsborough, New Jersey
Duke Farms’ beautiful natural setting, diversity of wildlife, programming and research enhances the environmental...
Check Out Our Eagle Cam
Eagle Cam
Written by:
Nora DiChiara
Tags:
Apr 8, 2015
Share:
The bald eagles incubated two eggs this season. Both eaglets have hatched. Will the smaller eaglet get enough food? Are the parents different each year? Once the eaglets are fully grown, do they ever see their parents again? With so many pairs of eyes watching the Duke Farms eagles, questions are sure to arise. For some authoritative answers to viewer questions, we turned to Kathy Clark, eagle expert and wildlife biologist for the N.J. Endangered and Nongame Species Program.I've noticed the parents seem to favor the stronger of the two eaglets and not feed the smaller ones as much. I've read there's a possibility they'll reject the weaker one. Is any human intervention planned in that event ?The observer is correct that eagles (and all birds with asynchronous hatching) will feed the oldest and strongest chick first, but that's not the same as "rejecting" a smaller chick. This is an evolutionary adaptation so that in times of scarce food, at least one chick might survive rather than none of them. When food is adequate, all chicks get fed as long as they continue their begging behaviors to the adults.Are the two parents are "strangers" when they mate? Depends what you mean by "mate." They spend time together, sometimes even more than one year, leading up to nesting. Many new pairs build a nest but don't lay eggs, when they are in their 4th year and not yet sexually mature. Courtship is an important aspect of their behavior leading up to nesting -- it builds the pair-bond and provides them "clues" as to their potential mate's suitability (ability to nest-build and bring in food). So by the time egg-laying time comes around, the birds do know each other.Do the same parents return to the nest each year?The same adults remain in their nest area year-round, and they add to their nest each winter prior to nesting. They are quite loyal to their nest site.Once babies are grown and fly away, do the parents just say bye-bye and never meet again?We don't really know. We've had some visual observations of an adult following a fledgling when it makes some large movements away from the nest, which suggests they care for them until they're sure the young eagles are doing well. But after the young leave the nest area for good (I recommend checking out maps of satellite-tracked eagles like ours), and later end up in their old nest area, we can assume they would know each other, but they no longer have that relationship. The tracked bird we named "Nacote" from 2014 has been all over southern NJ, and has been close to his old nest and other nests. Adult birds will defend their nest area from all eagles in most instances. We've heard a report of a young eagle hanging around a nest with two adults and appearing to help them... that's not the norm.Jim Wright writes The Bird Watcher columnist for The Record and the Herald-News. He is the author of four coffee-table books about wild places, and the deputy marsh warden of the Celery Farm Natural Area in Allendale, N.J.
Tags: Ecosystems , Wildlife
April 8, 2015
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.