Live webcam tracking birth of bald eagles in NJ
A bald eagle was born this weekend and it was caught on Duke Farms Eagle Cam, but there are two more hatchings you might be lucky enough to catch live.
This webcam project has been at it since 2008 and the eagle chick born this weekend was the first of 2021. Three eggs were laid at the end of January. They take about five weeks to hatch and the next two should come any day now.
Nora DiChiara, who is Director of Programs and Strategic Planning, told NJ.com people who watch the webcam "will see the chicks being tended to and being cared for by the parents. They'll feed them throughout the day, the chicks will get bigger, they'll go from fuzzy little heads with white fuzz all over them to looking more like immature bald eagles, and then they will eventually fledge the nest."
Of course much to Benjamin Franklin's chagrin, since he wanted the turkey to symbolize our country as the national symbol, the bald eagle representing the United States gets people excited. Indeed it is a regal, beautiful bird. Far more attractive than a turkey. Sorry, Franklin.
Here's some interesting bald eagle trivia I found on MentalFloss.com.
Bald eagles can see ultraviolet light. In addition to having far better vision than humans, a wider field of vision, and a protective membrane that covers their eyes called a nictitating membrane, they can actually see ultraviolet light.
The sound they make is lame and Hollywood dubs it out. You would think the call of a bald eagle would be fierce and mighty, what with representing the country and all. And Hollywood wanted you to believe that. Movies have shown a bald eagle's call by faking it, dubbing it over with the call of a red-tailed hawk. The actual bald eagle call sounds meek and giggly.
They mate for life. Not only do they usually stay with one partner, the male is just as involved with caring for the young as the female. And that mating for life business goes on quite a while. They live for decades and one was once recording living to be 38 years old.
They can be scavengers. While we think of bald eagles as swooping down across a lake's surface to snatch out a fish, that's not the whole story. They can hunt well, but they're also known to steal fish from other birds of prey and even root through trash for food and snack on dead things.
Bald eagles build huge nests. The average? 4 to 5 feet wide and 2 to 4 feet deep. A Guinness World Record holder in Florida? 9 and a half feet wide and 20 feet deep.
The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.