The peregrine falcon eggs at San Jose City Hall hatched last night!  Right now on the webcam Clara (mommy) is busy feeding the chicks.  Less than a day old and already ravenous (bad pun).

http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/falconcameraSJ.htm (Quicktime)
http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/falconcameraSJ_ms.htm (Windows Video)

Birth of peregrine falcons makes an auspicious Earth day!  They were on the brink of extinction 30 years ago due to the extensive use of DDT as insecticide.  Unfortunately DDT also caused peregrine falcon egg shells to become thin and brittle, thus easily killing unhatched chicks.  Their recovery is a symbol of conservation and environmentalism.  Let's keep it up for the future!

ETA: Looks like Clara is done feeding and is now keeping the chicks warm while they take a nap.

If you've read some of my old entries you know that I'm a big fan of raptors, especially peregrine falcons.  The Santa Cruz Predatory Birds Research Group has put up web cams at three nests around the Bay Area:  San Francisco (PG&E building), Redwood Shores (Oracle), and San Jose (City Hall).  Turns out that peregrines like to nest in high rises because in nature they nest on cliffs. 

So anyway, the couple in San Jose, Carlos and Clara, just had their first egg!  Yay!  Congratulations!

You can see the San Jose City Hall web cam here:

http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/falconcameraSJ_ms.htm

I don't know how I missed this one but apparently the nest box at Oracle HQ (Redwood Shores) is also home to four newly hatched peregrine falcon chicks!  Together with San Jose and San Francisco, we have three nests online, with a whopping 9 chicks between three couples. 

Oracle Peregrine Falcon Nest Cam:
http://pressroom.oracle.com/falconcam.jsp

San Jose City Hall Peregrine Falcon Nest Cam:
http://sanjose.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=91/nest

Best way to keep up is via the Nest Diaries:

San Francisco: http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/2007_nest_diary.htm
San Jose: http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/2007_nest_diarySJ.htm
Redwood Shores: http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/2007_nest_diaryRS.htm

A while ago I posted about peregrine falcons nesting in the San Jose City Hall.  Over the past weekend, all three eggs hatched!  Now Jose and Clara have their talons full feeding some pretty insatiable chicks, or eyasses as ornithologists call them. 

Check this some cool videos recorded from the web cam:

http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/SanJose/video_player.htm

Or if you want to go directly to the live cam:

http://sanjose.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=91/nest

Fluffy peregrine falcon chicks, that is...(did I fool ya, Angela?)

About a month ago three peregrine falcon eggs were evacuated from the Bay Bridge because that's the worst place for any bird to fledge.  Once they leave the nest it's a straight plunge to the water below.  So SCPBRG (Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group) relocated them and incubated them by hand, and one came out like this:


Picture (c) copyright 2007 SCPBRG

This cute ball of fuzz is the only surviving offspring of George and Gracie's attempt to nest on the Bay Bridge.  One other egg was not viable, and the other chick that hatched didn't survive past its first 24 hours.  That sounds sad but that's how nature works.  In the mean time George and Gracie got busy and laid an egg in their usual nesting place at the 33rd floor of the PG&E in downtown San Francisco where they have raised many generations of chicks.  Yes, peregrines mate for life and they trade incubating. 

And not to be outdone, a pair of peregrines have moved to downtown San Jose to the City Hall no less.  They have been named Jose Fernando and Clara (most likely after San Jose the city and Santa Clara the county or the city).  They have produced three eggs and they're being incubated as we speak. 

I've been following both pairs of peregrines at the SCPBRG's website.  They have webcams for both families as well as semi-regular updates.  If you like birds, I'd recommend you visit that site.

So, everybody, send best wishes to the young lovers at San Jose and the old couple at San Francisco!

George and Gracie's offspring head to safety
Researchers remove eggs of renowned S.F. peregrines from Bay Bridge nest to keep fledglings from drowning
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/31/MNGSCOVGGO1.DTL

In this age of the Internet, the whole Bay Area have been watching George and Gracie hatch and then rear their young for a few years now via webcams installed in their nest because they have been nesting in the buildings of downtown San Francisco.  Peregrine falcons thrive in cliffs and the highrise of downtown is strangely similar to that.  They also curb the local flying rat---pigeon--population, which is a very good thing. 

But it looks like we won't be seeing any cute fluffy peregrine chicks this year.  George and Gracie moved their digs to the Bay Bridge, which is a deathtrap for fledging birds because there is no footing for miles when they fledge (fly for the first time).  But at least I'm happy that the young will get a chance to live.  Peregrine falcons are endangered, and any addition to the population is heartily welcome.

To see the web cam images and other pictures of majestic falcons and cute chicks, visit the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group's website:

http://www2.ucsc.edu/scpbrg/