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SF Falcon Cam Posted by Scott Paterson [Email]  (#13)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Scott Paterson) on Thu, 5 May 2005 10:31:54
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EYES ON THE SKIES
Scientists band baby peregrine falcons
Justin Norton, Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- A group of baby falcons growing up on the 33rd-floor ledge of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s downtown headquarters were banded Wednesday, a procedure that will allow scientists to track and monitor the peregrines.
The banding was completed without problems in 15 minutes.
"They kind of looked at us like 'what are you doing here' and they talked a bit. But they stayed in place," said Brian Swanson, a utility spokesman.
The peregrines are the offspring of adult falcons George and Gracie.
The pair first became a hit with the downtown lunchtime crowd in 2002, in part because they can dive at speeds up to 200 mph to capture prey. Thanks to a $30,000 grant from PG&E and a Webcam, their lives are available via the Internet.
Two bands were placed on the falcons: a band with a phone number in case a falcon is injured and found and a band that can be read with binoculars. Swanson said the adult falcons dived and swooped at scientists banding different young birds last year but were out hunting this time.
This year's brood is Gracie's most successful. In 2003, she laid one infertile egg. She laid four eggs and had two babies the following year.
"It has to do with timing between her and the male ... now that they've been at if for three years it looks like they have the schedule down," said Brian Latta, a field biologist with the Predatory Bird Research Group in Santa Cruz.
The young falcons are becoming more mobile and can stand and walk, Latta said. During the next few days they will leave the tray and walk around the ledge.
Eventually, Latta said, the falcons will gain enough courage to leave the ledge and building.
The young falcons look healthy, in part due to a steady diet of pigeons, meadowlarks and other birds. But scientists say the pigeon population will remain stable.
"They might make a small dent in the population but even if there were four or five falcons the pigeons would still hold their own," Latta said.
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