Two tiny peregrine falcon chicks hatched in their pebble nest on top of the University of California, Berkeley’s Campanile Bell Tower on Earth Day.
The wild chicks hatched within hours of each other on Monday morning. Their proud parents, falcons Annie and Archie, watched closely as their newborns emerged, along with several falcon fans viewing from a livestreamed nest cam.
Bird experts with Cal Falcon Cam explained on X, “The chick will dry off quickly and its down feathers will turn into a warm, cozy pile of fluff. Annie will occasionally nibble on egg shells. It helps her regain the calcium she used to create the egg — which is leached from her bones.”
There are still two more speckled eggs that have not yet hatched. You can watch the Cal Falcon Cam’s livestream from the nest at calfalcons.berkeley.edu.
Annie was first spotted establishing her territory at the 300-foot-tall bell tower in 2016. “In totally natural areas, Peregrine Falcons nest on cliffs. When they are in cities, tall buildings can act as perfect stand-ins for cliffs. The Campanile is very well protected from predators and human interference and gives the chicks a safe space to grow and learn how to fly,” UC Berkeley’s bird researchers wrote.
Her former mate, Grinnell, was fatally struck by a car in March of 2022. Alden arrived at the Campanile soon after , and the pair bonded. During the 2023 hatching season, the falcon couple successfully hatched three chicks: Luna, Rosa, and Zephyr.
