Crews rappel into eagle nest to band and check nestlings, staff member says

A staff member, presenter, said crews boated about 25 minutes in, hiked up a steep incline and rappelled into an eagle nest to secure and band three nestlings before returning them to the nest.

"We wanna make sure they're doing well, make sure they don't have problems with parasites the chance to remove fishing line and fishing hooks from the nest if they've come in with the fish that's been brought in," the staff member said.

The staff member said the operation aims to monitor nestling health and long-term population trends. "The band number is going to be 80 over c. But the other real big reason that we're going into these nests is to put that that blue band on it. We're able to track these birds for the rest of their lives, gives us a lifetime of information," the staff member said.

Officials noted typical annual banding totals and population context. The staff member said teams usually band "anywhere from 25 to 35" eaglets per year and that Arizona's population was built up from about 25 nests in the late 1970s to 104 nests now. "We don't want to see that backslide at this point," the staff member said, adding that the population "is responding to the management we have in place."

The staff member gave a weight for one nestling as "right at 3 kilograms" and described the adult birds' behavior during handling: "Oh, they're kind of mad at me right now. But, yeah. Mom and dad, they they'll watch us put the nestlings back in the nest. They'll probably fly around, get excited that they've got their nestlings in the nest again. And then once we boat out of here, they'll they'll go back to taking care of them like normal."