In April, four peregrine falcon chicks hatched at the top of Campanile Tower on UC Berkeley’s campus. Wednesday morning, research scientists visited the nest to band the falcons.
As the bell tower sounded at 8AM, a group of scientists and university employees stepped out onto a ledge, to approach the falcon nest.
Gavin Emmons, a raptor biologist at Pinnacles National Park, sat with a fluffy falcon chick on his lap. He wrapped metal bands with different color tape around the birds’ legs, which will help track them when they eventually leave the nest.
“You just want to be really careful when you’re putting it on, so I’m using my fingers as a backstop," he said. "I’m just going in slow motions to ease the hinge shut. It’s important to be attentive and careful while you do it.”
Banding day has been on the calendar since the eggs were laid back in March. The Cal Falcons team was able to predict when the eggs would hatch, and then, the right time to band them.
“Ideally you’re trying to band these birds at like three weeks old," Emmons said. "That’s kind of the ideal age because their legs after about 14 days don’t get any larger, so you don’t run the risk of potentially putting a band that’s too small on their leg.”
This wasn't a fun time for the parents. We all wore helmets because Annie, the mother falcon shrieked and dive-bombed our group. But Gavin said not to worry.
“They’re kind of like mammals to the extent that even if they have periods of high stress, as soon as that stressor is removed, they’ll chill out and get much more relaxed again and go back to their normal schedule.”
In addition to the banding, Gavin plucked four feathers from each chick for testing. The DNA of the chicks can shed light on the parents and the entire Bay Area falcon population.
It took about 30 minutes to band all four of the chicks.
Safely back inside the tower, lead scientist Zeka Glucs said the process was quick - and most importantly - safe for the falcons.
“It’s nice to do it on a cool morning like this," Glucs explained. "There’s less stress for the birds. You could see the young weren’t overheating or anything. They were happy and quiet and we put them back. We were able to get all the bands on, get all the measurements and all the samples we needed, which was lovely.”
The chicks will begin to leave the nest in the next two weeks. Scientists and falcon fans at Cal will be watching. You can also follow along via the Cal Falcons’ live web cam.
A contest is also now open to decide on names for the four baby chicks. Organizers of the naming contest said the four names should be connected by a theme.
Nominations will be accepted until noon Sunday via Cal Falcons' profiles on Instagram, Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Berkeley Public Library has also set up a way to allow youth to propose names.
