Up on the roof: UC Santa Cruz helps PG&E nurture peregrine falcons
July 17, 2017 •
It’s a bird, it’s a plane — no, it’s definitely a bird! Make that three baby birds — Steph, Iggy and Flash.
Once again this year, UC Santa Cruz’s Predatory Bird Research Group (PBRG) is assisting PG&E with the peregrine falcons that are nesting on the roof of the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Peregrine pairs have made the high-rise building their nursery most years since 2004.
Between World War II and the 1970s, the peregrine falcon population nearly disappeared due to toxic chemicals. But, thanks to the Endangered Species Act and good work like that done by the PBRG, there are now about 300 pairs of peregrine falcons in California. Since 1998, PG&E has provided more than $260,000 in grants to the UC Santa Cruz group to support its community outreach and education programs.
The San Francisco falcons that hatched this year are getting ready to take flight any minute now, so check out their live webcam before they leave home.
And to catch up on their lives so far, enjoy the short video clips on their YouTube page.
Steph fledged later the same day we published this story. There’s a great short video of her first flight, which the camera captured as she soared out towards the bay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu8ZcqX1k4o