Bergen County Hosts Free Bald Eagle Festival as Habitat Concerns Emerge

The Bergen County Audubon Society will hold its Bald Eagle Festival on Jan. 11 at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission costs nothing. Visitors can join bird walks, listen to talks, and participate in activities that celebrate how these raptors bounced back from the brink.

Bird walks happen at 11:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. One talk focuses on Al and Alice, two eagles that locals know well. There's also a workshop on photographing these birds.

Nature photographer Kevin Karlson and ornithologist Tina Morris will appear at an awards ceremony during the festival. Morris authored Return to the Sky, which tells how people saved the species from dying out. The Flat Rock Brook Nature Center will bring live raptors. Kids can enjoy activities, and there will be information tables plus live music.

New Jersey had 264 active bald eagle nests in 2024. Bergen and Passaic counties combined had about a dozen.

The raptor came off the national endangered species list nearly two decades ago. Just a year ago, the state removed it from its endangered list too.

Don Torino, president of Bergen County Audubon Society, voiced worries about what's next for the species in the group's most recent newsletter. "Removing the eagle from the endangered list may alter the land use rules by allowing developers to build closer to their already stressed out habitats," said Torino, according to North Jersey. "Anyone who passes through our Garden State sees the unprecedented pressure by developers."

Sixteen years ago, spotting a bald eagle at DeKorte Park was rare enough to make staff chase the bird outside in freezing weather for a photograph. One observer ran 75 yards down the Transco Trail without a coat to capture the moment — that's how unusual the sighting was.

The event marks a celebration of the species' return, but conservationists warn that loss of habitat could threaten what's been accomplished in bringing these birds back from near extinction.