City Hall Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine Falcon fans from around the globe tune in to San Jose’s wildest reality show, currently featuring Grace, a rare peregrine falcon (female peregrine) who makes her home in a nestbox located on top of a ledge on the 18th floor of City Hall in San Jose, California, the Capital of Silicon Valley. Grace arrived at City Hall during the 2019 season, with a new unbanded tiercel (male peregrine), who has been dubbed H2. We were fortunate that Grace appeared wearing a visual identification band (68 over R) which identified her as one of the chicks hatched at the S.F. PG&E nest site in 2016. This was very exciting news, and poetically joined the two popular nest sites.

Until the 2019 season, Clara was the much-loved resident falcon. Clara had various mates, the last being Fernando. Clara's first mate was Jose (2007, unbanded), then Carlos (2008, banded, released from Long Marine Lab in 2006), followed by Esteban Colbert (2009-2012, unbanded), and finally the aforementioned Fernando (2012-2019, unbanded).

The SJ City Hall peregrines have their own discussion forum, Facebook page, a wiki, and the live streaming feeds below, where fans may view them 24-7.

Feed One - The Ledge

Feed Two - The Nest

THE NESTCAMS

Since 2007, Peregrine Falcon fans have been privileged to witness the fascinating lives of the peregrine falcons settled atop City Hall through the lens of the FalconCam, maintained by the City of San José in partnership with the Predatory Bird Research Group (PBRG) at the University of California – Santa Cruz. In 2020, the PBRG and Institute for Wildlife Studies installed a new camera system, made possible by a generous donation from Rich Chambers. The current set-up includes two camera feeds that provide panoramic views of the nest and the ledges where the peregrines can often be found.

USEFUL LINKS

Predatory Bird Research Group at UCSC – providing educational outreach services to school & community groups in San Jose about peregrine falcons; offering expert advice to the City regarding peregrines; and monitoring nest productivity as well as the health and movements of the SJ City Hall and SF PG&E chicks. Each Spring, PBRG biologists enter the nest to check chick health and place leg bands on the chicks to help monitor them through their lifetime. These leg bands also help to differentiate the young peregrines from one another as they grow up on camera and eventually take their first flights from the nest ledge. There are over 30 active nests in the San Francisco Bay Area that are part of the PBRG peregrine monitoring program.

Groups.io discussion group – for discussion and information concerning the San Jose City Hall Peregrines and their young. Staff from the Predatory Bird Research Group (PBRG) at UCSC Long Marine Lab, and citizen scientists with falcon and raptor experience moderate the group.

YouTube channel – SJ City Hall Peregrines' video archive

Facebook – the SJ City Hall Peregrines’ social media presence.

Wiki – your resource for the history of the SJ City Hall Peregrines.

Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group

Restoring the Peregrine Falcon Population

This organization, a member of UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of Marine Sciences, was founded in 1975 to help restore a peregrine falcon population that had plummeted to just two known breeding pairs in California. To effectively and methodically meet that daunting challenge, SCPBRG initiated research to monitor the peregrine falcon recovery, and developed innovative management techniques to accelerate the success of the effort. Their research and management strategies were soon adapted and expanded to include other species of predatory birds, including bald eagles, Harris’ hawks, aplomado falcons, and elf owls.

Given their expertise and proximity to San José, the City contracted with them first to establish the nest site on City Hall and to advise on setting up the nest cam. More recently they provided recommendations on building operations to minimize disruption to the birds, which are still listed as endangered in California. For more information on the group, which is funded by grants and contributions, visit Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.

Peregrine Falcons

Urban Dwellers

Peregrine falcons are found nearly worldwide and prefer to live on cliffs with open hunting areas below. Two of the most exciting locations to see them are at the tip of the African continent near Cape Town, South Africa, and on the cliffs at Lands End near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. They have become well established in urban areas, finding skyrises and bridges quite suitable substitutes for craggy rocks. A large number of webcams have been established in towns and cities worldwide to allow researchers to observe the birds for scientific studies and to increase public understanding and appreciation of this beautiful species.

Of the two dozen pairs of peregrines located in the Greater Bay Area, the most well-known are San José’s City Hall falcons and George and Gracie in San Francisco, whose nestcams have resulted in media publicity throughout the region and nationally. In 2005, PG&E partnered with the Predatory Bird Research Group to establish a nestcam on the 33rd story of PG&E headquarters, where the pair nested and fledged three young. In 2006, they moved across the street and fledged another son. In the spring of 2007, they moved their nest to the Oakland-Bay Bridge and laid three eggs. On March 31, the eggs were rescued by the Santa Cruz group and will instead be incubated and hatched in Santa Cruz and then released along the Santa Barbara coast.

Wonderful Wanderers

Peregrinus is Latin for “wandering” and aptly describes the peregrine’s migrations, which in some U.S. and Canadian subspecies can range from the Arctic tundra to South America. How fast are they? Their cruising speed seems to be 45 to 60 mph, with hunting speeds of up to 75 mph. Long distance dives with wings partially or fully closed (called “stoops”) have been reported by falconers and skydivers as exceeding 200 to 250 mph. What do they catch? The species as a whole preys chiefly on birds. In San José, they feed mostly on pigeons, starlings and sparrows. For more information on peregrine falcons, check with San José Public Library.

In urban settings, peregrines have few predators, but there is always danger from other quarters. Here’s wishing our two new friends success this nesting season, and for many more to come.

Falcon Facts

Peregrine Falcons

Fastest animal on the planet (dives at 250-300 mph to catch birds in the air)
Nests on tall cliff faces or other structures that dominate the landscape
Nest-cup is a “scrape” in dirt or gravel on cliff ledge
Incubates eggs 34 days
Young fledge at 6 weeks of age
Young eventually (6-8 weeks) leave parent’s nest territory

University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Role (Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group)

To provide educational outreach services to school &and community groups in San José about peregrine falcons
To provide expert advice to the City regarding peregrines

Peregrine Falcon History

Peregrine falcons were near extinction by 1970 due to environmental contamination by the persistent pesticide, DDT.
The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group at UCSC was formed in 1975 to address this environmental crisis. Today, it continues to address problems and conduct research.

Observation Locations

Recognizing Peregrines

Adult peregrines, 15 – 20 inches in length, are slaty-backed and pale underneath with faint, dark barring. Their face has distinctive dark “sideburns” called a helmet that is visible from some distance. Once you get used to looking for them, you will also be able to observe them perched on traffic signals or swooping after their prey, which include pigeons and smaller birds. Watch carefully, because their rapid wingbeats are not unlike the flight of the pigeons they chase.

In addition to street level, there are several locations from which to observe the birds when they are perched at City Hall. These include the top floor of the 4th Street Parking Garage (at San Fernando) and the 8th Floor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, also located at 4th and San Fernando. In either case, a pair of binoculars or a spotting scope is helpful in seeing them better.

Falcon fans can watch Clara and Carlos live via the FalconCam. This webcam is maintained by the City of San José in partnership with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California – Santa Cruz.

Falcon-Scope Now Available at the King Library

The Martin Luther King Library now has a high-powered telescope trained on the City Hall Falcon nest box available to the public.

The King Library has a specially mounted telescope to watch the falcons as they come and go from the nest box ledge at City Hall. The spotting scope is set up on the eighth floor of the King Library and was a donation of Orion Telescope and Binoculars, with the support and assistance of the San José Public Library Foundation. The public is welcome to view the birds during library hours, however, the eighth floor is designated as a ‘quiet area’ so those using the scope will be asked to turn off cell phones and keep noise at a minimum. For public information, call 408-808-2000.

When the birds are not at City Hall, they may be perched at several other locations downtown, including the Adobe buildings, the Business Building at San José State University, and the AT&T Building.