Santa Cruz bird researchers to rescue eggs on Bay Bridge
Published: April 6, 2007
It’s a busy month for local peregrine falcon researchers.
Two conservationists from the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group will strap themselves into body harnesses and climb under the San Francisco Bay Bridge this morning in an effort to recover a nest of peregrine eggs.
Caltrans plans to close a lane of traffic on the lower deck of the bridge while the bird rescuers retrieve the eggs.
“We’ve got to shimmy off the catwalk onto the bridge’s center pillar,” said Alex Stewart, 20, a member of the research group that has figured prominently in the rebuilding of the state’s peregrine population.
“I’m excited as I’ve ever been for this kind of thing,” he said.
Meanwhile, three peregrine falcons raised in captivity made their outdoor debut this month, when scientists at the research group at Long Marine Lab opened the door to their nest box for the first time. The group has released hundreds of birds in its 30 years.
The three falcons took flight on March 17 but haven’t gone far.
They have already been spotted perching near Natural Bridges State Beach and at UC Santa Cruz while they use an artificial nest at the marine lab as a home base until they learn to fly and hunt.
“If people take out their binoculars and scan roofs at [Long Marine Lab,] there’s a good chance they’ll be able to see these wild birds,” said Alex’s father, project manager Glenn Stewart.
The peregrine population crashed throughout North America in the 1960s when the pesticide DDT, which the birds consumed in the fat of their prey, caused their eggshells to thin and break under the weight of nesting adults.
While the peregrine falcon population appears to be recovering, the birds remain listed as an endangered species in California; they are listed as a threatened species in the rest of the country.
In San Francisco, peregrine parents George and Gracie have developed a large following on the Internet, thanks to a webcam placed near their last home, high above the skyscrapers of lower Market Street. But on the Bay Bridge, their new nesting site can be lethal for fledgling falcons because they can fall into the bay and drown on first flight.
Alex Stewart, a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, will place the eggs inside a padded carrier and later into a portable incubator while in transit to Santa Cruz. After they hatch, the chicks will be matched with captive foster peregrine parents.
“Each egg is a contributor to the peregrine’s recovery in areas like the Sierra and Southern California where populations are not back to normal,” explained Brian Walton of the research team.
In Santa Cruz, the birds released on the Westside will soon leave the area in search of their own territory, some traveling as far as 700 miles. Once the birds get accustomed to flying, they start to hunt.
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