Bald Eagles Make Their Home on Brick Cell Tower

Since the end of last year, Brick Township has had two unusual new residents - a pair of bald eagles has set up a home high atop a cellular tower off of Old Hooper Avenue near the intersection with Hooper Avenue.

The bald eagle nest was first spotted on the tower at the end of 2010 and has been a sensation for passersby, wildlife officials and eagle aficionados.

“It is unusual in New Jersey for eagles to nest in a cell tower - they tend to be more fussy,” said Margaret O’Gorman, Executive Director of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. “They prefer tall trees near clean water and a good source of food.”

O’Gorman said most of the state’s bald eagle population is along the Delaware bayshore or in Northwest Jersey.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey works in partnership each year with the state Department of Environmental Protection on the Bald Eagle Project, monitoring and tracking the bald eagle population in the state.

Last year, they reported there were 94 eagle pairs, 82 with eggs. Forty-three nests were successful in producing 69 young and 32 nests failed to fledge their young. They attributed the poor productivity and nest success to a large amount of snow and rain during the late winter and spring, as well as severe wind storms.

The researchers believe the Brick Township eagles are the first successful pair to lay eggs and rear young in the Barnegat Bay area in many years. The pair has raised two eaglets who are getting ready to fledge, or fly from the nest.

“The older they get, the less chance of mortality,” said Christopher Claus, Cattus Island County Park Chief Naturalist, who has been watching the birds since late 2010. “Now the eaglets have to learn to fly, learn to fish, and they will be out on their own for the rest of the summer.”

Since first being sighted, the bald eagles have attracted crowds. People gather across the street from the cell tower, bringing cameras with telephoto lenses and binoculars, to get a look at the birds. Barbara Knoll and Pat Sinquett of the Shore Acres section of Brick have visited the eagles every day.

“We’ve always been interested in eagles and it’s unusual to see them in a man-made structure,” said Sinquett. “They’re so beautiful and fascinating creatures. They fill you with pride, they’re the symbol of our nation, they mate for life and are devoted to their young.”

New Jersey’s bald eagle population dwindled to almost nothing around 1970 as a result of the use of the pesticide dichloride-biphenyl-dichloromethane, commonly known as DDT. Use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1972. The ban, along with restoration and management efforts by state biologists, has resulted in the population increase.

In 2007, the federal government removed the bald eagle from its list of Endangered Species in recognition of the national resurgence in the eagle population. However, the bald eagle’s status in New Jersey remains endangered.

O’Gorman said the greatest threat to bald eagles in the Garden State is loss of habitat, which likely will result in more nests in unconventional places.

“Eagles are nesting closer to populated areas and roads, but are adapting to those types of areas,” she said. “We are hopeful that if we can keep their habitat intact, we can maintain a healthy population in New Jersey.”

For the Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Fun Fact about the Bald Eagle, visit http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/downloads/cwnj_48.pdf.

For the 2010 New Jersey Bald Eagle Project report, visit http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/eglrpt10.pdf.