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Redwood Shores Nest Diary 2007:

A pair of peregrine falcons first nested at Oracle in the spring of 2000. In 2001 SCPBRG partnered with Oracle to install nest box, and a web camera on the roof of building 400 at the Oracle headquarters in Redwood Shores.  This was the first time that a live video camera was able to broadcast the complete nesting activities of peregrine falcons in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The falcons, known as Sadie and Jimbo, nested again in 2002, but were not observed nesting at the Oracle campus for the next four seasons. 

In spring 2007 we were notified by some Oracle employees about increased falcon activity on the Oracle campus near the nest box.  The box, and camera, were both still exactly as we had left them in 2002. Curious to see if anything might be visible in the nest, Oracle turned on the video camera in April, and lo and behold...the falcons are back!  

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Note that diary entries list most recent events first

June 8, 2007: The good news is that our young swimming peregrine, 95M, took off on a very strong flight today, but this time he flew UP!  No more lakes, no more groundings!  This now means that all four young tiercels have successfully fledged from Oracle this year!  If you find yourself in the area over the next couple of weeks, it's worth dropping by, with binoculars in hand while the boys perfect their flying skills.

June 6, 2007: The last of the Oracle youngsters, 97P fledged today. All of them, except for 95M who landed in the lake yesterday, have been observed flying around in the vicinity of building 300 and 400 throughout the day, and are doing very well.  The tiercel that landed in the lake yesterday did not fly again today, but is expected to leave the ledge sometime over the next few days.

 

June 5, 2007:  Just a little excitement this evening!  58P fledged to the roof of building 500 about 7:10PM, and 73S flew over to building 300.  Young male 95M refledged this evening. However, during his expedition around the Oracle campus, the youngster tired himself out as he was flying across the lake.  He didn't quite make it all the way across the lagoon, and landed in the water, next to a duck.  The duck didn't seem to mind too much.  Thankfully though, peregrines are actually remarkably good swimmers, as some observers on the ground were able to witness first hand.  He hauled himself to the edge of the lakeshore, and was allowed to rest there for a while, before being scooped up by SCPBRG staff.  The young tiercel appears no worse for the wear.  As he wasn't captured until almost dark, he will spend the night at SCPBRG to dry out, and be released early in the morning.

June 1, 2007: A fledging! Late last evening one of the Oracle males embarked on his first trip away from the roof of building 400. He was reported to be on the side of the 300 building, being fed by one of the adults.  This morning however, he landed on the ground.  Oracle security contained the bird until SCPBRG staff arrived on scene.  The bird was assessed for potential injuries, and found to be in excellent condition (and rather fiesty too) and was quickly returned back to the roof of building 400.

May 23, 2007: Glenn Stewart of SCPBRG spent today at Oracle in the hopes of being able to learn the identity of the female nesting on the 400 building at Oracle. Although we've suspected that it may indeed be Sadie returning after a four year absence, based her banding configuration, her identity wasn't confirmed until this afternoon.  Glenn was able to view her black visual identification band via a spotting scope, and confirms that the Oracle female is indeed Sadie!

May 15, 2007: BANDING DAY Today SCPBRG's own Brian Latta descended down to the Oracle nest box on building 400 to band Sadie's four young eyases.  The young were not removed from the nest, as Brian was able to band them in the box.  Unfortunately, we couldn't actually see the banding on camera, but Brian did grab this picture when he was done.  Sadie soon returned after he left and fed all four of the youngsters.  The banding results are that this year we have ALL MALES in the Oracle nest...4 boys!  Their VID band (black band) numbers are as follows:

Male 1: left leg 73/S
Male 2: right leg 95/M
Male 3 : right leg 58/P
Male 4 : left leg 97/P

May 8, 2007: The live images are online!  Today the live images from the Oracle nest have gone online.  Although the images aren't streaming video, the images will refresh approximately every 15 seconds.   This afternoon, during a feeding, we had an excellent glimpse of all four chicks in a row waiting for their share of the meal. When they're not eating however, you will usually see them sleeping together in a pile in the corner of the nest box. The adults will brood them during cooler weather, but when the weather is warm, they will likely spend more time in the box alone, with the adults standing watch nearby.

April 2007 Update: We haven't seen into the nest box for a few days, but the camera was up and running today, and revealed that ALL FOUR eggs have hatched, and there are four young and healthy eyasses in the box being brooded.  Because these birds are similar in their stage of development to the San Jose brood, we're estimating that the Oracle young hatched around the 24-26th of April.  The Oracle young appear to be slightly more advanced, with just a little more dense white down than the San Jose chicks. We hope to have live images online for viewing very soon. Stay tuned!

April 17, 2007: Today Oracle turned on the camera and found a falcon, that is banded, staring back at them! The falcon in the nest box was clearly seen to be wearing a black visual identification band on her right leg, and a silver Fish and Wildlife Service band on her left leg.  This is the same as the banding configuration that Sadie had.  Unfortunately, the camera wasn't able to focus clearly enough to allow the VID band to be read.  We do not yet know if the male peregrine at Oracle is banded or not. Sadie's mate Jimbo from 2001/2 was not banded, so it will be interesting to see if this year's male is banded or not.

Also inside the nest box, along with who we presume to be Sadie, were FOUR eggs!  Unfortunately, we don't know exactly when these eggs were laid.  After all, we hadn't seen falcons at Oracle in the past four spring nesting seasons, and didn't expect to see them this year.  We'll continue to post updates as we get more information on nest activities, or the identities of the falcons that have nested at Oracle this spring.

April 11, 2007: SURPRISE!  Based on reports from the ground of increased falcon activity in the vicinity of the Oracle Campus, today Oracle acquired their first look into the nest box through the camera mounted inside the nest box, and found a falcon laying down in the box!  It was immediately apparent that this falcon must be incubating eggs!