Golden State Today

The quadruplets — Annie's 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd chicks — received a checkup and their ID bands this morning. By Gretchen Kell May 15, 2024.

Their parents, Annie and Archie, were not pleased when humans visited the four peregrine falcon chicks on UC Berkeley’s Campanile early this morning to give them a checkup and ID bands. From the width of the nestlings’ legs, raptor experts determined that two chicks are male and two are female. However, the individual nine-digit ID codes on their national Bird Banding Laboratory bands are not catchy names. Therefore, Cal Falcons launched a contest today asking the general public to propose sets of four names for the chicks. Submissions are due by noon on Sunday, May 19, with instructions available on Cal Falcons’ Instagram, Facebook, and X sites.

The top suggested sets of names will be announced at noon on Monday, May 20, to launch a final vote. The winning names will be revealed Thursday, May 23 at noon. According to Sean Peterson, a Cal Falcons ecologist: “The names should be connected by theme,” though UC Berkeley-related names are “always a plus” but not mandatory.

This is Annie's first brood of four chicks and her eighth time as a mother since arriving at Berkeley in late 2016. It is also the first family for Annie and her new mate Archie. The chicks have grown quickly since they hatched; three emerged from their shells on April 22 and the fourth on April 24.

“Mostly, they look huge!” said Peterson. “It’s really amazing to see how fast they grew in just three weeks.” He added that their flight feathers are starting to come in but will develop further over the next two to three weeks.

Peterson noted evolving personalities among the young birds: “One of the chicks seems like a bit of an explorer,” he said. This chick wanders around more than its siblings and may prove difficult to track once it leaves the nest.

The quadruplets are expected to make their first flights off the bell tower during the first week of June. They will then spend one or two months practicing flying skills and learning to hunt before leaving home.

Zeka Glucs from Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group and Gavin Emmons from Pinnacles National Park partnered in banding the birds. Both Annie and Archie vocalized loudly nearby during this process; Annie even made several dives at Glucs and Emmons who wore helmets for protection.

Glucs explained that they determined if each chick was male or female by measuring leg width above their feet—a fully developed part at this stage—and noting that males have thinner leg bones compared to females.

Male falcons tend to take flight first as they are smaller than females who need more time for feather development due to larger body size differences between genders within raptors remain debated according to Peterson: "One theory I like quite a bit is that it prevents competition for resources between males & females."

Each chick received two ID bands—one issued by national Bird Banding Laboratory with unique numbers differentiating them from other North American birds—and another with larger type characters visible through binoculars distinguishing them regionally along with different colored electrical tapes aiding identification especially when flying off towers soon green tape marks oldest female yellow second sister blue brother while smallest last-hatched male displays silver ID band only no red tape used avoiding Stanford references Lynn Schofield shared during livestreamed Q&A session about today's bird-banding event answering questions regarding Berkeley's falcons

Annie has resumed hunting duties alongside Archie catching prey meals ferociously chasing off intruders including osprey earlier week previously bald eagle despite size difference "almost certainly traveling between hunting areas surprised irritated tiny speed-demon chasing down" per Peterson renowned speed aerial hunters drop prey over200 mph few true threats sky fast enough evade larger raptors digestive systems now handling varied diet beyond strict meat seen eating feet bones other items similarly likely true cousins Alcatraz Island Lawrencium "Larry" hatched Campanile offspring longtime mate Grinnell tending foursome natural cave nest live cam shows nearing first flights