OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Baby falcons nesting in eastern Nebraska have been adorned with colored bands as part of an annual wildlife conservation tradition.

Animal experts tagged the birds Thursday atop the Woodmen of the World Tower for this year’s Woodman Falcon Nesting Project event.

Joel Jorgensen with the Nebraska Games and Parks Commission says he and others try to tag the falcons around this time each year, when they’re about three weeks old. He says the task is important to preserve the previously endangered peregrine falcons.

Betsy Finch, rehabilitation manager at Fontenelle Forest Raptor Recovery, says after tagging the birds, the group inspects them for diseases and makes sure they’re healthy.

Tagging the falcons is part of a long-term study to track falcon populations across the Midwest and the U.S.