Some neighbors in Monmouth County are upset over the demolition of a tower and osprey nest they say was taken over by a pair of bald eagles.

The nest was built on an old radio tower in Allenhurst; the land is now being cleared for redevelopment.

“They’ve been there. Everyone loves watching them. We have videos we show our kids and stuff like that and as of yesterday, the nest was removed,” said Matt Flanagan, who works next door to the demolition site.

Since early October, Flanagan and many others have enjoyed a patriotic view outside the office window.

“There’s been lines of people here with professional equipment taking pictures videos,” Flanagan said.

On Wednesday, that tower came down, the nest, now a pile of twigs and sticks.

Recent photos show the eagles inside that nest. But according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, this was deemed to be an abandoned osprey nest and issued a permit to take it down.

The DEP wrote in a statement to News 12, “NJDEP Fish & Wildlife determined that the nest on the radio tower was an inactive osprey nest, not a bald eagle nest. Working in coordination with the developer, Fish & Wildlife issued a depredation permit authorizing its removal.

It should be noted that a pair of bald eagles had been sighted in the area and perching near the nest, but Fish & Wildlife determined that it did not meet the definition of an active bald eagle nest.

Eagles typically nest in trees but may, at times, attempt to take over nests built by ospreys, which are far more likely to nest on artificial structures.

While it is not certain that the eagles seen in the area of the radio tower were in an early effort to attempt to use the osprey nest for breeding, NJDEP Fish & Wildlife determined that their likelihood for breeding successfully on an artificial structure in this location was not good. It was also determined that the osprey nest had never been previously used by eagles.

Removal of the nest now encourages them to nest in a more suitable location when the nesting period begins in earnest in January and February. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concurred with this decision."

“There’s probably around 300, or close to it, active pairs in New Jersey, which is incredible - 1980 there were one pair,” said Don Torino, president of the Bergen County Audubon Society and a DEP volunteer eagle nest monitor.

Torino says the ospreys likely fled when food became scarce because of a bunker shortage in the ocean. He says eagles sometimes move into abandoned nests, and the public needs to report sightings.

“The responsibility really starts with us to do the right thing first and report the species and make sure people know about it and make sure the right thing is done best we can,” said Torino.

The DEP says removing the nest will encourage the eagles to build in a better location.

“I always hear that from people, developers, whoever, ‘Oh, they’ll go somewhere else.’…We are running out of someplace elses,” added Torino.

To report bald eagle and other rare species sightings in New Jersey, CLICK HERE.