another report frm BARb( yeah
this one posted)
I was at Sansome St. and Clay yesterday to answer the question about the fledglings that have been observed along the Embarcadero near the Bay Bridge touch-down near Main St. and Bryant St. I observed our two girls at Sansome St. while Dan, Denise Roy saw the three fledglings at Pier 28 along the Embarcadero. It looks as though there are two girls and one boy. Obviously there are two families.
For those who have been with the group since 2016 you will remember when the PGE female Cher and Dan adopted a fledgling. The wayward fledgeling showed up first at ATT Park and sat on a cupholder on one of the seats during a game. Sometime after this appearance there was a commotion at 123 Mission (catty-corner to PGE) and when it was over there were 4 fledglings that both Cher and Dan fed and took care of, until all 4 left the area.
A pair along the Embarcadero from Heron's Head Park Wetland to Pier 28 has been observed for many years and obviously in 2016 they successfully fledged at least one peregrine (a male, if I remember correctly) who decided to leave home. The territory never interfered with the PGE territory and we never observed any territorial disputes.
Female peregrines (technically a "falcon") often have more than one nest site within their territory and may use a different nesting site each year. The reasons are unknown but it could be a matter of cleanliness or a disturbance at a previous nest site. As an example, the first falcon at PGE (Gracie) used the north side of the building, then the south side of the building, and then used a planter box on 201 Mission, across the street from PGE. The nest site for the Embarcadero falcon has variously been reported to be a crane, a stationary ship, and may now be under the I-80 freeway that leads to the Bay Bridge. Falcons will often take over a stick nest of a raven or crow and perhaps that why the family is closer to Pier 28. There are some tall buildings in the area and "peregrine paint" was observed on one of the windows The young however are using the light standards, and the warehouses on the piers. The two girls are still doing a lot of sitting and the male seems to be out and about (very typical for young peregrines).
It looks like San Francisco will send off 5 young peregrines this year, and if the Alcatraz family fledges into the City as they did last year, there will be even more.
Barbara