February 22, 2008

City Hall celebrates Valentines Day with the return of FalconCam

Last year’s phenomenon from the top of City Hall returned again this year when the city turned on the FalconCam on Valentine’s Day.

Peregrine falcons named Clara and Carlos have set up a nest on the top floor of San Jose’s City Hall. Last year, Clara and her mate Jose, raised three fledglings in the same nesting box. More than 400,000 people watched the birds at one time or another from February through mid-summer. In 1970, only two pairs of peregrine falcons remained in the wild in California. Today, thanks to extraordinary conservation work, there are more than 250 nesting pairs, including those at San Jose City Hall. Photos: www.scpbrg.org

Yes, it’s time for love in the air again, although this year’s Peregrine falcons include several new cast members. Clara has a new beau named Carlos. This year’s pair can be viewed at two different places on the Internet--the city of San Jose Web site, www.sanjoseca.gov, and the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group Web site, www.scpbrg.org.

Last year thousands of people tuned in to watch Clara and Jose’s eggs hatch and view the youngsters as they matured and finally began learning to fly. The Web cam focused on the nest box of San Jose City Hall ’s resident wild peregrine falcons returned this Valentine’s Day.

San Jose’s Richard Meier-designed City Hall opened in October 2005. Employees first noticed a pair of falcons, whom birdwatchers named Jose and Clara, in the spring of 2006. The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group placed the nest box on the south end of the City Hall tower later that year.

In early spring 2007, Jose and Clara were again regularly observed together in the area. The Web camera was positioned near the nest box. By mid-February the birds were observed engaging in typical courtship behavior, and by late March, Jose and Clara had laid a total of three eggs in the nest box.

All three eggs hatched successfully, an extremely rare occurrence, on April 28, and the world watched the progress of the three young peregrine falcons. The chance of survival for the fledglings was constantly in peril, while they learned to survive in a big city environment. As the three fledged in June, middle school students entered a contest to name them. Hiko (male), Spirit (female) and Esperanza (female) were the winning names.

The youngsters left San Jose over the summer to find territories of their own. They were banded with identification bands, and bird watchers in the East Bay have discovered Esperanza frequenting the Siebel building in Emeryville.

Jose was last seen in July. As falcons typically mate for life, birdwatchers are concerned about the disappearance of this devoted mate and father. Since then, Clara has been courted by at least two peregrines (named Carlos and Salvador). Following a brief skirmish on Jan. 29, it appears that Carlos is the victor. He and Clara have been spotted in duo flight, hunting together, and visiting the nest box.

Over the course of last season, the FalconCam site received more than 400,000 hits. More than 1,150 people belong to the discussion group, with viewers as far away as New Zealand, Bolivia, England, Egypt and even U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.