In their efforts to preserve the population of peregrine falcons, the University of California, Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG), has successfully raised four young Peregrine falcons this spring in their breeding facility.
SCPBRG biologists raised the Peregrines with the help of a foster Peregrine mother and recently released three falcons that were rescued during the nesting season.
Peregrine falcons typically nest in cliffs. To them, the tall buildings in different parts of the Bay Area are also inviting places to nest. This year, two pairs of Peregrine falcons nested in different sections of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and biologists from the SCPBRG rescued them.
"From past experience, we know that the Bay Bridge is a particularly lethal environment for young falcons to live," said Brian Latta, a field biologist from the research group.
George and Gracie
This year, SCPBRG's biologists rescued a total of three eggs and two young falcons from the Bay Bridge. The three eggs were the new eyrie of a well-known San Francisco Peregrine Falcon couple, George and Gracie, named after George Burns and Gracie Allen.
Of the three eggs produced by George and Gracie which were rescued on March 30, only one offspring (named "Little G") survived. She was released on June 2 along the Santa Cruz coastline with her two foster siblings who were also rescued from the Bay Bridge. The young falcons will still have food provided to them at the release site for two months until they can hunt for themselves.
To everyone's surprise after George and Gracie nested on the Bay Bridge, they returned to their familiar nesting site on the 33rd floor of the PG&E building in downtown San Francisco, and laid one more egg before ending their season. The new egg had to be rescued by biologists since George and Gracie unexpectedly left the nest without incubating it.
Fortunately, with the care of SCPBRG biologists, a healthy Peregrine was hatched. According to a PG&E press release, "By the time this baby Peregrine is ready to fly for the first time, its older sister 'Little G' will still be returning to the release site in Santa Cruz for food. The two siblings should have a chance to get to know each other before they transition into wild independence."
PG&E first teamed up in the mid 1980's with SCPBRG when biologists began to notice that Peregrine falcons were regularly visiting PG&E's downtown building.
"At this site, SCPBRG biologists installed a nesting box with hopes that the Peregrines will use it as a nest," said Brian Swanson, PG&E spokesperson.
PG&E donates an average of $35,000 per year to help finance SCPBRG's educational outreach to schools and a webcam through which George and Gracie can be observed during the nesting season since 2005 by biologists and fans alike.
"These birds are the mascots of our building. Employees can see them through the windows and love them and are very proud of them," Swanson said.
SCPBRG installed two other cameras: one in the San José city hall tower and another in the Oracle building in Redwood Shores. The resident Peregrine family of San José—José, Clara, and their three offspring—can be observed by the public through the webcam at http://falconcam.sanjoseca.gov/nest .
Restoring an Endangered Population
The efforts to restore the population of Peregrine falcons started in the early 70's. The late UC Santa Cruz professor Ken Norris and Santa Cruz veterinarian Jim Roush formed the SCPBRG in response to declining populations of Peregrine falcons and other birds.
"Peregrine falcons are monogamous birds," Latta told The Epoch Times . "They stay with the same couple until one of them dies." According to Latta, Peregrine falcons were near the point of extinction. "Only two breeding pairs were found in 1970."
The main cause of the rapid worldwide decline of the population of these birds is believed to be the poisonous effect of the pesticide DDT.
Peregrines are very territorial birds. They expand their territory or are more flexible to share it depending on the amount of prey available. Because of the mild weather in California, Peregrine falcons don't migrate. They stay in their territory to protect it against falcons migrating from colder climates.
"Now Peregrines are pretty well recovered from their decline," Latta said. "A statewide census in 2006 indicates that there are approximately 250 Peregrine Falcon nesting pairs in California, but they are still listed as endangered birds of pray," added Latta.
The SCPBRG is involved in several educational and research programs, including studies on the continued effects of DDT. The organization also studies the decline of other populations of birds such as the burrowing owl.
For more information about Peregrine falcons and SCPBRG, visit: www.scpbrg.org
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