HILLSBOROUGH: Two baby bald eagles emerge, awaiting a third

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Two week-old bald eagles occasionally pop into view, via a continuous camera feed on the Internet, from a nest high up in a sycamore tree on the Duke Farms property in Hillsborough.
   There’s still a third egg in the nest, awaiting birth.
   For the most part, Momma Eagle can be seen sitting on the nest, tending to the nest, as the reality show hits the air for the world to watch.
   ”This nesting season is very similar to 2009, the first year that the Eagle Cam was in operation,” said Gene Huntington, director of natural resources at Duke Farms. “That year, the pair also laid three eggs, with each of the eggs hatching several days apart. There is a chance the third egg may not hatch this year, but we are hopeful it will.”
   ”Once they hatch, the chicks grow very quickly,” said Mr. Huntington. “Within about six weeks, they are almost as large as their parents.” Activity also increases, with the parents bringing more food for the chicks, he said.
   The young typically fledge, or leave the nest, in about 11 or 12 weeks.
   ”After they fledge, the young will stay near the next as they perfect their flying and hunting skills,” Mr. Huntington said. “During that time, their parents will still keep a watchful eye over them.”
   Duke Farms projected the third egg would hatch about April 10. Its ETA for the first two eggs was a day or two later than anticipated. Like the rest of the world, staff is waiting and hoping.
   The Duke Farms Eagle Cam (see it at dukefarms.org) will remain in operation until activity at the nest ceases, mostly likely in July.
   With the birth of the two eaglets, interest has picked up on the EagleCam. Holly Dunbar, communications team leader at Duke Farms, said the organization has received e-mails from schools and viewers around the country.
   The camera becomes a learning tool, enabling students and the public to watch animals grow up in the wild.
   Working in collaboration with Duke Farms, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, a non-profit organization dedicated to rare wildlife and providing place-based wildlife education, has developed four lessons plans for educators based on the use of the Eagle Cam in the classroom.
   To download lesson plans, visit www.dukefarms.org or www.conservewildlifenj.org.