Regional Story

It was a beautiful summer morning and 7 year old Emily’s family decided to take a walk in the woods behind their house. Her dad wanted to show them a bald eagle’s nest that he had seen while checking the property in the spring. Her little sister Lizzy was very excited and almost ran out the door without her boots on. It had rained a few days before, but hopefully the hot July sun had dried up most of the mud. The dogs somehow knew they were going in the woods and began jumping up and down by the back door. Emily’s mom could hardly get Charlie, their little spaniel, to sit still long enough to put his harness on. Toby, their lab, didn’t need a leash, and he was already running in excited circles around the yard. Emily’s dad called him over, and they set off towards the opening of the path into the woods.
Lizzy ran ahead and her mom called to her to watch for prickers that sometimes grew over the path. The path was shaded by old maple and oak trees, so it was nice and cool as they headed further along. Charlie started barking excitedly after hearing a rustle in the bushes and Toby ran over to investigate. All of a sudden, a big gray rabbit shot out and Toby looked at Emily’s dad as if asking whether or not he could chase it. Emily’s dad called him back and Toby gave the rabbit a farewell bark.
They came to the corn field and started across, picking their way through the rows of loose soil. The farmer had planted this field last year, and all that remained this summer were the dead stumps of the husks. As they crossed the woods and went onto the old railroad tracks, Emily heard a small yelp to her right. She looked over to the edge of the path and saw three fox kits sticking their heads out of their den. Excitedly, Emily pointed them out to Lizzy, who's eyes grew wide with excitement. They crossed the bridge over the little stream and the girls layed for a while peering over the edge at the frogs and tadpoles in the water.
As they began to get nearer to the big pond, Emily’s dad picked up Lizzy and motioned for them to be quiet. There was a big pile of sticks lying at the bottom of a pine tree. He had Emily’s mom hold Toby by the collar and told the girls to stay by their mom. He went closer to investigate, being careful to look around for the parent eagles. He heard a desperate chirping come from within the pile of sticks, and considered the best option. It seemed that the nest had fallen out of the tree somehow, and the parents were nowhere to be seen.
They returned to the house and Emily’s dad looked up the number for his friend that worked for the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. He talked to him for a few minutes and when he hung up the phone, Emily asked him what they were going to do. Although the eagles are no longer endangered, they are still on the watch list, so her dad said they had to wait for his friend and his team to get there and remove them. They arrived later that day and Emily and her dad went back to the woods with them to show them the spot. The team told them that if they hadn’t found the baby eaglets when they did, they wouldn’t have made it much longer. It seemed the parent eagles had left because there was nothing they could do for their babies. As the rangers carried the box with the eaglets away, Emily whispered a goodbye.
A few months later, Emily and her dad went to the conservation facility in the swamps to visit the rescued baby eagles. Emily asked her dad why they were brown and didn’t look like bald eagles, and her dad told her they wouldn’t get their adult feathers until later. The ranger in charge of the eaglets came over and thanked Emily and her father for helping them out, and told Emily to come back and visit anytime. He told her that the world needed more girls like her, and gave her a "Junior Ranger" sticker. Emily had never felt so proud.