Bald Eagles across New Jersey face many challenges including, lead poisoning, power line electrocution, and loss of their natural habitat. That is why ShopRite and Procter & Gamble (P&G) are offering a helping hand by supporting the Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s (CWF) Eagle Monitoring Project.
ShopRite and P&G presented a check for $13,000 to the CWF Eagle Monitoring Project at Mercer County Park in West Windsor on April 7. Over the last two decades, ShopRite has donated $100,000 to the CWF.
As part of the Eagle Monitoring Project, CWF works with biologists from the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife to manage and reduce disturbances in eagle habitats across the state, especially around nest sites.
Eagles are very sensitive to human disturbance and will abandon their nest sites if people encroach on the area during the nesting season, which begins in January and lasts until July.
As a result of conservation efforts, the eagle population in New Jersey has taken flight. In 1982 there was only one active nest in the entire state. In 2020, there were 220 active nests, and 248 pairs of monitored bald eagles that produced 307 hatchlings.
Mercer County is home to four nesting pairs of bald eagles – including two pairs that reside in the Mercer County’s park system. For more information on the bald eagles of Mercer County, visit http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/education/mercer/
Almost every nest in New Jersey is closely monitored by a dedicated volunteer who helps biologists track nesting activity. They observe nesting behavior to determine egg laying, hatching and fledge dates. In addition to protecting nest sites, biologists work to protect suitable habitat in a variety of ways, including working with landowners, land acquisition experts, and through the state’s land use regulations.
For more information, visit http://conservewildlifenj.org/protecting/projects/baldeagle/.
In New Jersey, eagles begin courtship and nest building in early January. Pairs lay up to three eggs in late-January to mid-March and incubate for about 35 days. Upon hatching, the chicks are helpless and require close parental care. After about six weeks, the young birds begin to stand up and feed themselves when the adults deliver food. Eaglets take their first flight around 11 weeks of age. Adults continue to provide food for young near the nest for up to two months while the eaglets learn to fly and hunt.
Over the last 20 years Shoprite has supported CWF with more $100,000 in donations.
For more information on how ShopRite is working to protect the environment, visit www.shoprite.com/sustainability.
- This article was submitted by BML Public Relations.