Fate Of Last Baby Bald Eagle Egg Looks Grim At Duke Farms

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Things are not looking good for the third and final baby bald eagle egg at Duke Farms in Hillsborough.

"It looks like it may not hatch, and it appears that we may have a two-chick season," said Nora DiChiara, director of programs and strategic planning at Dukes Farms.

Three bald eagle eggs were laid in late January and marked the first of 2021 to be born at the nature preserve at 1112 Dukes Pkwy W in Hillsborough.

The first egg hatched on Feb. 26 at 6:44 a.m. and the second egg hatched last Tuesday at 6:02 a.m. It has been almost a week since the second egg hatched as the third egg was expected to hatch sometime last week.

"One egg is remaining in the nest bowl and being incubated, but based on when chick 2 hatched, it should be hatched by now," said DiChiara.

An attack by an intruder at the nest after one of the eggs was laid is believed to possibly be linked to the reason the final egg will not hatch. Read More: Attack At NJ Bald Eagle Nest After 1st Egg Arrives At Duke Farms

"We will never know why it didn't hatch. There are some theories that the remaining egg is actually the first laid egg and may have been damaged during fights with nest intruders. Or it could be a myriad of other reasons. The most we can do is observe, speculate, and hope for a wonderful and uneventful 2 chick season," said DiChiara.

Bird enthusiasts can still catch a glimpse of all of the new chicks and eagle parents live, 24 hours a day at dukefarms.org/eaglecam.

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