Saving Eagles by tracking them
GREENWICH TWP., N.J. - April 25, 2008 Valent is with the New Jersey DEP's endangered species program and each year he and co-workers must band and examine baby eagles that are not easy to get.
Valent climbed high to reach the nest located in Greenwich Township, Cumberland County.
Each bird is put in a bag and lowered to the ground while mom and dad watch from above.
A small hood is placed on the eaglets to keep them calm .
They are banded so they can be tracked and blood is taken to see if they've been exposed to toxins.
It was the pesticide DDT that nearly wiped the nation's bald eagle population decades ago.
Eagles are no longer on the Federal Endangered Species list, but they are on New Jersey's list. However, great strides have been made.
In 1984 New Jersey started a program to save the eagles with a single carefully managed nest.
The programs succcess is in no small part due to the work of volunteers and land owners where the eagles nests are located.
They make sure no one bothers them after zoologists and vets do their work.
Mick Valent returns the eaglets to their nest after banding them. He is so moved by the birds beauty that he snaps a few photos for his very own.
