SAN FRANCISCO ~ 2015

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 61943

It sure does, Catwoman!!

Thanks so much, Bev.!!!

gigi · **Posted:** Sat Apr 18, 2015 7:04 pm

Thanks Bev. :hapdance:

We all appreciate you bringing Glenn's pics here.

bev. · **Posted:** Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:45 am

new video form Glenn
Day 8 of incubation

bev. · **Posted:** Mon May 04, 2015 3:54 pm

day 22 of incubation and counting

I am so gla d people are watching over them

bev. · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 1:07 pm

a video from Glenn after a nest exchange, and prey delivery

catwoman · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2015 5:40 pm

Thanks, Bev!

mwplay · **Joined:** Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:15 am **Posts:** 10249

Glenn Stewart just sent this out to the SF PGE Yahoo Group:

The plot thickens

Two eggs were discovered in the PG&E nestbox today. We know that a clutch of eggs is being incubated at 350 California and we know that the PG&E eggs were not in the nest box when the 350 bird began incubation. Barbara Waaland reported seeing a female come off the PG&E nest ledge yesterday. With that observation we took a look at the nest box and found two eggs in it, meaning that there is a second female peregrine "in the neighborhood" that appears to be laying a clutch of eggs while the 350 clutch is being incubated. However we have not seen two male peregrines at once leading me to believe that one male may be servicing two females (yes, it has happened before). Before getting into the "what-ifs" we need to see if 1) the 350 eggs hatch, 2) the PG&E clutch is completed, and 3) if two males are seen at the same time in this "territory." --glenn@scpbrg

gigi · **Posted:** Fri May 08, 2015 8:07 pm

Oh, the plot thickens!! :ohyes:

catwoman · **Posted:** Fri May 08, 2015 9:51 pm

Thanks, MW! Very interesting! I am selfishly glad the original nestbox is being used cause maybe next year they will go back to having a cam there if there are any falcons there. :clap:

The 1 male to 2 female thing seems to be more common than we thought a short time ago. Some males can make it work. :eggthumbup:

bev. · **Posted:** Fri May 08, 2015 11:17 pm

Well i hope this is O>K> for both sites

we are fortunate to have Glenn Neville watching other site, and taking pictures and knowing which day we are in incubation etc.

mwplay · **Joined:** Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:15 am **Posts:** 10249

If there really is 1 male & 2 females, these sites are really close - a 6 minute walk - 1/3 mile crossing streets and taking a turn or two. For them to fly - probably a minute apart.

This will be REALLY interesting if this is the case. My guess is PGE ledge faces out towards water which prevents female from seeing the other ledge, but I'm not 100% sure what direction the other ledge (350 California) faces.

Here's a Google Earth Map

kittenface · **Posted:** Sat May 09, 2015 2:26 am

WOW!! that is crazy close, :girlcrazy:

Sure hope everything works out for both nests.

gigi · **Posted:** Sat May 09, 2015 10:09 am

That is close. But if it is easier for Dad, then I am all for it. Thanks for the map mwplay!

bev. · **Posted:** Sat May 09, 2015 10:57 am

they have close nests in Toronto and Winnipeg downtown has 2 close nests also.

so it seems to work out. But I am following other nest in San as it is so closely monitored .

bev. · **Posted:** Tue May 12, 2015 9:54 pm

day 30 o f incubation

bev. · **Posted:** Fri May 15, 2015 12:49 pm

day 32 of incubation . I have pictures to post later from yesterday

Glenn has scope set up to report any feedings. Then we will know a hatch.

They will be banded.

bev. · **Posted:** Fri May 15, 2015 3:04 pm

there have been a few talon to talon encounters with another falocn in past few days. But so far our resident pair are O.K. I hope it stays this way.

we are so close. and they will be watched well.

I cannot post my pictures till later as when I put them up they cover my other cams

bev. · **Posted:** Sat May 16, 2015 1:13 pm

day 32 form Glenn

google earth that shows distance between 2 sites has them 1800 ft apart

more photos to come

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 61943

Thanks Bev!!!

skygirlblue · **Joined:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:18 pm **Posts:** 61943

Interesting new Blog entry by Glenn..

I do not agree with the Darwinian view that when Peregrine Falcons fledge badly, that they are deficient. Or that those originating at poorly located eyries (bridges, cranes, etc.) are the progeny of genetically deficient parents who are unable to choose a safe nest site. This fatalistic viewpoint holds that these falcons are better left for nature to take its course. My view is that the Peregrine Falcon is a precious resource that should not be squandered by narrow thinking and that if we can pick them up and give them a second chance, we should.

We band birds with the glimmer of hope that someone, somewhere might see them again. But most banded birds never are. The many Peregrine Falcon observers in the San Francisco Bay Area increase my chances. Bands give me an opportunity to learn more about dispersal distance and direction, nest site tenacity, and, the longevity of Bay Area Peregrines.

Today, I have information on one banded female falcon that is worth sharing. She fledged poorly and probably would have expired had a Good Samaritan not picked her up and given her a second chance. Her story is a good example of a falcon that is clearly not genetically deficient–just unlucky on her first attempt at flying.

It is important to note that fledging falcons are inherently clumsy. Having never stuck a landing in their short lives they are uncoordinated at braking before a landing and then grasping and balancing upon a perch. The bird in our example fledged from a nest box situated on a 250-foot high catwalk encircling one of two smokestacks at the Moss Landing Power Plant. Peregrines had attempted to nest at the power plant for years, probably because it overlooked abundant foraging habitat at Elkhorn Slough. But this attractive site near the midpoint of the Monterey Bay shoreline offered no nesting substrate on the one structure near the slough. Plant workers added a tray of gravel and the grateful Peregrines moved right in.

When our falcon tested her wings for the first time she missed attempts at perching and fluttered to the ground where she was immediately set upon by gulls. It was July 2nd, 2012.

A power plant worker saw the melee and scooped the young Peregrine into a cardboard box. A young woman living nearby heard about the capture through the wildlife network and drove immediately to the power plant and offered to take the bird to her veterinarian father for evaluation. The young woman is Sierra Roush and her father is Jim Roush, founder of the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group. (Jim thinks the bird should be now be known as “Sierra!”)

Dr. Roush declared the bird fit for release and I banded her with the VID band, 23/R. I released her the next day on a large flat roof near the power plant smokestack where the resident pair could resume their parental duties. That would be the end of the story except for a photograph taken yesterday by an exceptional peregrine watcher–Cleve Nash.

People like me who band Peregrines, are so grateful for people like Cleve who search for Peregrines and then report their whereabouts. These patient observers wait hours, days, weeks, and sometimes months, for a falcon to stretch a wing and a leg at a time and place where they can see–and perhaps photograph–its banded leg.

Three years and two days after she was banded and released at Moss Landing, Cleve verified that 23/R was the nesting female at one of the world’s most famous Peregrine Falcon eyries–the north side of Morro Rock at Morro Bay, California. She produced 3 young in 2015. When I relayed her story to Cleve he said, “maybe the stacks at the Morro Bay Power Plant looked like home to her.”

23/R had some bad luck on her first flight but has proven that she is in no way deficient by taking over the iconic nesting territory at Morro Rock as a three year old.

Blog and 2 pics:

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SAN FRANCISCO ~ 2015

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