Active bald eagle nests were previously located during aerial surveys performed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  Once the nest trees were pinpointed on the ground, the ascent into the towering white pines began and the eaglets secured. 

They were then lowered to the biologists below where an assortment of data was collected and blood drawn to monitor contaminant levels in the young birds. 

Eagles are considered bio-sentinels at the top of the food chain.  The chicks primarily eat fish caught by their parents from the Lake Superior waters surrounding the islands. Monitoring contaminant levels in the young eagles gives an indication of the overall levels such as mercury and pesticides in the fishery and ecosystem. 

The chicks were then banded and hoisted back into the nest.  None worse for the wear and sporting new jewelry bands, the young eagles settled back into their nests overlooking the magnificent Apostle Islands.