Any sign of weakness on Lou’s part could attract floaters and jeopardize the eggs. Lou is Annie’s third husband in seven years of nesting and there are other suitors, known as “floaters,” who have been seen around campus. The advisory group oversees 40 volunteers, or 10 people per egg in the nest. The organization has an advisory group of six, most of them with at least one advanced degree in raptor biology. Anybody with a question can get it answered by the members of Cal Falcons support group between 9 a.m. The Cal Falcons prey on other birds, and do not need humans to feed them. “They could lose a foot or a wing or they could die.” “Peregrines have flown out after the drones,” Malec said. A few years ago a drone landed on the ledge itself. One major hazard are drones, which are illegally flown around campus, sometimes too close to the nest. If they fly into a hazardous situation, members of Cal Falcons will be there to rescue them. It is followed in May by Fledge Watch, when the chicks will fly for the first time. Hatch Week, which happens once a year, starts next Monday, and it is expected to take two to three days to hatch all four eggs. In 2017 crews built a nest box on the side facing west. Their first nest was imperfect, as the eggs kept rolling off and breaking. The ledge where the falcons settled is beneath the white marble top and above the observation deck. Sather Tower, as the white granite landmark was named when it was built in 1914. They initially roosted atop a sandbag, on a narrow ledge that surrounds the Jane K. The original Cal Falcons, Annie and Grinnell, arrived in 2016 and settled on a high perch, beyond reach of any Cal Golden Bears. Annie has to practically kick him out of the nest so she can have her turn.” “He is doing such a fantastic job,” Malec said. Indications are that this is Lou’s first time as a dad, adding to the intrigue. A week or two later, a younger falcon to be named Lou arrived to take his place. He disappeared last November, never to return. “Alden saved the day and became a stepdad to chicks that weren’t his,” Malec said.īut Alden may not have been cut out for nest life. Within five hours of his death, another male, later named Alden, arrived at the nest to take his place and help incubate four eggs. Grinnell, who was named for Joseph Grinnell, the first director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, was found dead after drifting off campus and into Berkeley in May 2022. He replaced Grinnell, who lived to be 8 and fathered 13 chicks. On their most recent Instagram posting, Annie, the female peregrine, guarded over the eggs with the caption “I am never gonna recover financially from this,” already anticipating the ever-rising tuition at the couple’s home university.įans feverishly engage with the Instagram account, recently voting Lou as the name of the new male bird. “They are completely wild animals, but they are predictably good parents.” I can’t even answer that question for myself,” said Mary Malec, a volunteer with the support group Cal Falcons, who puts in four to five hours a week in service of the birds. “I don’t know why people are so fascinated.
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