Ten young ospreys from Wisconsin made a pit stop at the University of Minnesota’s raptor center this week on their way to Iowa. 

The chicks were being transported  by the Wisconsin and Iowa departments of natural resources as part of a 12-year-old effort to repopulate Iowa’s osprey population. The population has been in decline due to pesticides and land development.

The birds came from northwestern Wisconsin, where they were taken from nests by a professional climber. The climber was paid by school groups who earned the money from selling lemonade and collecting milk jugs, the Pioneer Press reported Friday. 

At the raptor center the birds underwent an hour long checkup. They had physical exams and received fluids, fish and anti-parasitic drugs. 

This may be the final year of the effort, which originally intended on establishing 10 nesting pairs. There are currently 14 pairs.