Mothers and fathers work hard all year round. In the natural world, parents are constantly laboring to keep their young healthy and safe. This time of year in New Jersey, eggs are already on the way for some species of raptors. Great horned owls and bald eagles are diligently refurbishing nests, coddling eggs and then keeping their hatched babies warm and fed — no small feat.
Great horned owls are busy nesting and laying eggs now; January through early February is mating time. On quiet, still winter nights, after great horned owls have successfully hooted their mating calls to each other from the tops of tall trees, it is time to lay eggs.
A female great horned owl lays anywhere from one to four eggs, with typically one brood (or set of eggs/chicks) per year, though some pairs might re-nest if their eggs fail before hatching. The eggs are incubated by the female for about 5 weeks. While she is on the nest, the male hunts in the night and delivers her food. Only rarely do males pitch in with incubation duty.
Juvenile great horned owls will depend on their parents for food until autumn, when they are fully independent and can safely leave the nest and home territory. Before that time, great horned owls will protect the juvenile birds fiercely from predators by bill-clapping, hissing, or making guttural noises. If that does not scare the threat away, protective adults will strike with their talons.
Like most other owls, great horned owls do not build their own nests but instead use the abandoned nests of other birds — most commonly those of the red-tailed hawk. If there are no abandoned nests for the taking in the forest, sometimes tree cavities, cliffs, or ledges can become home.
Bald eagles are the earliest nesting birds in the state. Since December, pairs have been gathering materials to build and repair their nests, many of which are used by the same birds for years. Mostly made of sticks, nests are built in tall trees in close proximity to water, where food is abundant. Some nests can reach 10 feet across and weigh up to 2,000 pounds! Pairs will continue working on the structures until females begin to lay eggs.
Mother bird will lay one to three eggs, and together with her partner, incubate for about 35 days. Both male and female bald eagles are active parents, working cooperatively to keep eggs and babies warm. Each will take turns hunting while the other sits on the nest, but the female does most of the incubation work. The first bald eagle chicks of 2025 will begin hatching in late February and early March.
“Generally speaking, in the animal kingdom, a larger organism takes longer to grow,” says Chris Soucy, executive director of The Raptor Trust, a care and rehabilitation center for New Jersey’s wild birds. “A bald eagle is a gigantic thing. It takes a long time to grow that big!”
Upon hatching, the chicks are helpless and require close parental care. After about five weeks, the young birds begin to stand up and feed themselves when the adults deliver food. Adults will continue to feed young near the nest for several weeks as the babies learn to fly and hunt. Young birds leave the nest in late spring at approximately 11 weeks old – by then, food sources like fish, small mammals, and waterfowl will be plentiful. Bald eagles practically vanished from the eastern United States prior to the banning of DDT over 50 years ago. Efforts by state biologists led to their re-establishment in New Jersey. Although the population has risen from only one active nest in 1982 to nearly 300 in 2025, biologists are now concerned that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) will be infecting bald eagles, possibly starting a new decline. Oddly, bald eagles were recently removed from the state’s threatened and endangered species list — along with ospreys — on Jan. 6. Ospreys will not be impacted because they do not eat waterfowl, but eagles regularly scavenge dead waterfowl that carry HPAI. Infection is always fatal.
“We are making The Raptor Trust as safe as we possibly can and taking HPAI very, very seriously,” says Soucy. “Any birds that arrive that we feel have a chance of infection are placed in quarantine and staff are outfitted with full PPE. We follow guidance from New Jersey Fish and Wildlife when handling any potential HPAI cases.”
The birds of New Jersey are truly parental heroes. Most human parents can relate to the pressures of keeping food on the table, and keeping the family safe and warm in winter. But surviving in the wild requires constant skill, vigilance, and a will to live that most humans in New Jersey rarely need to summon.
Earlier:Bald eagle and osprey removed from the state’s Endangered Species List, the DEP announces
How can you learn more about raptors in New Jersey?
There are lots of fun ways to observe and learn about raptors, including a pair of eagle festivals on Feb. 1 at the Mauricetown Firehall. Visit https://conservewildlifenj.org/events/ for more information.
The Raptor Trust in Millington is open to the public and can even host private guided tours. Visit the website to explore ways to support their work in helping sick and injured birds: https://www.theraptortrust.org/support
Mercer County Wildlife Center — a rehabilitation facility for birds and wildlife — is another fun place to spend time with resident raptors: https://www.mercercounty.org/departments/mercer-county-park-commission/wildlife-center/about-us
For information about preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org.
Alison Mitchell is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.
