2007 Golden Eagle Banding

This week I had a great privilege. I got to work beside my brother, hanging off ropes and banding Golden Eagle chicks. I have been working on this project for the past 4 years for the Nation's Department of Game & Fish, but my friend Jim who has been my climbing partner for those years has taken another job and left the state. We needed a strong climber and I got to pick him, so Craig got the job. It is hard to imagine being paid to do something this much fun. There are bad times too, some hiking and bushwhacking through thick oak brush, rattlesnakes, scary nests with no ledge to sit on, thunderstorms, piles of rotten rabbits in the nest, etc. We set a new record on Monday and banded 9 chicks in 5 nests. Craig was invaluable; setting anchors, hauling gear and even banding 3 chicks. The rest of the week was not as productive, but we still visited 12 active nests (out of 19) and got 17 chicks banded. We have some follow-up work to do next week and should finish with around 25 chicks banded.
Here are some pictures from the first week, I'll have more a little later: (click the picture to get started)

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