Bald Eagles that have been banded at Reelfoot Lake State Park have been found as far away as Texas and North Dakota. Since someone had to go up into the eagles' nest to get the eaglets for banding, we decided to take advantage of that and install a new camera over the nest. Our hero, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Officer, Ken Smith explaining the banding process before climbing into the tree. Just don't think about how much it world hurt to fall on those cypress knees. Ken on the nest, checking out the branch where he will put the new camera.
Eaglets are relatively non-aggressive.
These just watched and let him handle them with little fuss. Photo submitted by Dennis Lovell. The bag was then lowered to the ground and taken to a dry spot where two park rangers fitted the band. The bird was then put back in the bag and brought back into the nest. Jan Derting Park Ranger David Haggard holds the eaglet while another ranger fits the band around its leg.