Sure, DC has their eagle-cam or whatever, and while that definitely is cool, they're not the only ones with a livestream of a raptor once almost driven to extinction nesting in their metro area. We bring you the Peregrine Falcon Cam. The video (and yes, you can zoom in) shows a pair of falcons that has taken up residence on top of the downtown PG&E building. At the time of this writing, the mother bird appears to be doing a bit of a dance move, shuffling about on the nest to get more comfortable atop three recently laid eggs — it's awesome.
The stream is the result of a collaboration between PG&E and the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, a group affiliated with the University of California. At some point, should all go according to the bird's plan, you will be able to see the chicks hatch live.
According to ABC 7, "another family" of Peregrines took up residence in the same spot two years ago but wouldn't this be the same nesting pair that keeps returning to the same spot? SFist covered the Falcon Cam that was installed here at PG&E headquarters in 2011 when a pair of baby falcons hatched there, born to parents Dapper Dan and Diamond Lil, who at the time were estimated to be one of approximately 250 nesting pairs in the state.
"Powerful and fast-flying, the Peregrine Falcon hunts medium-sized birds, dropping down on them from high above in a spectacular stoop," explains The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "They were virtually eradicated from eastern North America by pesticide poisoning in the middle 20th Century. After significant recovery efforts, Peregrine Falcons have made an incredible rebound and are now regularly seen in many large cities and coastal areas."
You can watch the livestream on PG&E's website.
