The NJDEP staff and volunteers are helping to care for the hundreds of nests around the state by collecting data to understand more about the species.

The population of bald eagles across New Jersey is soaring.

There are about 300 bald eagle nests throughout New Jersey that are monitored by staff and volunteers from the Department of Environmental Protection, according to the agency.

Fifty years ago, there was just one nest.

The NJDEP staff and volunteers are helping to care for the hundreds of nests around the state by collecting data to understand more about the species.

“We actually have...a small army of volunteers,” says Kathy Clark, from the Endangered and Nongame Species Program at NJDEP.

“That is how we know so much about our population… we're actually collecting from individual nest data,” says Clark.

The NJDEP attributes the previous loss of population of bald eagles to habitat loss and diseases like bird flu.