her name was Little G

Bay Bridge Peregrine Falcons Get Released

POSTED: 9:28 pm PDT June 1, 2007
UPDATED: 6:02 pm PDT June 3, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO -- Three young peregrine falcons got their first taste of the wild when they were released Saturday along the Santa Cruz coastline.

The University of Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group biologists and a foster peregrine mother have raised the three birds, after all three were rescued from their nests on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge earlier this year.

"Little G," one of the soon to be released falcons, is the female offspring of George and Gracie, a well-known peregrine couple living in San Francisco. "Little G" was rescued from the bridge nest on March 30 when she was still inside an egg but is now at the ripe old age of 42 days. Peregrines typically fly for the first time between 41 and 43 days old, according to a statement from Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

The other two falcons were also rescued from the Bay Bridge as hatchlings about two weeks ago and are not related to "Little G."

George and Gracie moved from the Bay Bridge to the downtown San Francisco PG&E building, where they laid one more egg. That egg was also collected by biologists, and a healthy peregrine emerged on Tuesday.

The peregrines will still have food provided for them at the release site for two months until they can hunt for themselves. The falcons will also carry radio telemetry devices so the predatory research biologists can track them until the device falls off in a few weeks.

San Jose also has a resident family of peregrine falcons. Jose and Clara have a nest on the San Jose city hall tower and their own reality web show at http://falconcam.sanjoseca.gov/nest where their three offspring can be seen with almost full adult plumage.

Peregrines are an endangered species in California. The peregrine population declined to zero known nesting pairs east of the Mississippi River, and just two known nesting pairs in California by 1970. Today, there are an estimated 250 peregrine falcon nesting pairs in California, according to a statement from PG&E.

Copyright 2007 by KTVU.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.