Student climbs into bald eagle nests in the name of science

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Rachel Eberius fell in love with animals and the great outdoors while growing up in Harford County.

She relished the camping trips she took with her parents. She enjoyed water skiing on the Chesapeake. And like many young people, she had a soft spot for cats and dogs.

Still, she never imagined she'd be donning spiked shoes, shinnying to the tops of 100-foot trees and climbing into the nests of bald eagles in the name of environmental science.

For the past three years, Eberius, a graduate student in environmental science at the University of Maryland, College Park, has...