by Playfuls Staff |
1st April 2007
Researchers in San Francisco robbed a pair of peregrine falcons of their eggs because the offspring would likely [more] drown if they hatched on the Bay Bridge.
The parents, George and Gracie, had been nesting atop downtown office buildings since 2003, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Researchers are unsure why they moved to the bridge.
"The bridge is a great place for peregrines to nest but a bad place for their young to fledge," said Glenn Stewart of the Predatory Bird Research Group. "When they fly for the first time, they are not strong enough to reach either Treasure Island or the city, and they fall in the water and drown. We've seen it happen before."
San Francisco is great falcon habitat with a large supply of pigeons, rodents and other suitable food -- and high-rise buildings and bridge pylons that are as good for nests as the sheer cliffs peregrines seek out in the wild.
The two viable eggs removed from the nest will be given to a peregrine falcon foster mother for initial raising.
© 2007 UPI
