From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for July 24, 1989:

Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week captured, banded, and re-released the two young bald eagles hatched this spring at Clinton Lake. Although the bands were purple, and four of the five fish and wildlife biologists were from Manhattan, the color choice did not show a Kansas State University bias, park officials said. “The purple and silver tag is specific for this project. I don’t even know if they had a choice,” said Dave Rhoades, park manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Clinton Lake. However, he said the biologists did have to put up with some good-natured teasing about the color. The eaglets had been banded so that birdwatchers across the nation could assist in tracking the two Kansas birds. The biologists also determined that both of the young birds were males. “With males there is less of a chance than with females of their returning to the same nest site,” Rhoades explained. The eaglets had also been measured and given a general check-up. The largest of the two birds already had a wing span of 6 feet, 8 inches.