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NJ eagles, ospreys and peregrines: Flying high

The annual reports on eagles, ospreys and peregrines in New Jersey always make for fascinating reading.

Honest. No kidding. Some government reports really can be interesting.

These provide -- 'scuze the cute pun -- a bird's eye look not only at how each species has fared in the state in the past year, but they also suggest the lengths that the human species went to in order to watch and monitor them.

All three raptor species were once prevalent in the state. But their populations declined after the pesticide DDT caused a thinning of their eggshells, and few young survived. But now, they represent some of New Jersey's greatest wildlife success stories.

Today, the state Department of Environmental Protection has posted the 2010 reports. Click here to see the new ones and an archive of previous ones.

But if you want the summary....

I always turn right away to the end of the report because I'm curious about how many eagles were found dead or injured, and what happened to them. In 2010, a dozen eagles were recovered. Three were alive and were successfully rehabbed and released. Among the nine dead, four had evidently collided with wires and had been electrocuted and  two were hit by cars -- both relatively common causes of unnatural death among eagles. Three more had died of unknown causes, pending necropsies.

I always like the map of the nests, too. You can't tell precisely where they are -- good thing, say those who don't want the birds disturbed. But you can get the gist, and it shows just how important Delaware Bay is for the species. The bay coast in S. Jersey is Eagle Central.

Overall, researchers found 13 new eagle pairs in 2010. The state now has a new record high of 94 pairs, 82 of which produced eggs.

Lastly, read the list of dozens and dozens of volunteers at the end and give a cheer. As the report notes: "The state's eagle population would not be thriving without the efforts of the dedicated eagle volunteers who observe nests, report sightings, and help protect critical habitat."

The population remained steady at 25 known pairs. Want to know where they nested? It was 14 pairs on towers and buildings, six on bridges, and five on cliffs. Never mind the traffic. Hotspots were the Betsy Ross, Walt Whitman, Burlington-Bristol and Tacony-Palmyra bridges.

Biologists were able to band all but one of the 42 young produced in 18 nests. They collected eggs to add to research on chemical contaminants in the eggs. Researchers used remote, motion-activated cameras to watch the birds.

Didn't I tell you this was amazing?

It was a very good year for this species in New Jersey. The nesting population is approaching its pre-DDT levels of 500 pairs. They produced an all-time high of 2 eggs per nest, on average.

In an attempt to aid the species, special nesting platforms have been erected at many places in the state. Apparently, they're working. About 75 percent of the osprey pairs nested on them this year. They also chose cell towers (8 percent), channel markers (4 percent), duck blinds (3 percent), dead trees (2 percent) and other structures.

Kudos to Kathleen Clark, of the DEP's Endangered and Nongame Species Program, and Ben Wurst, of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, whose fingerprints are on all three reports.