Each spring, viewership in our city of a certain reality show surges — is it “The Bachelor”? “Love Island”? Nope, it’s the peregrine falcons nesting atop San Jose’s City Hall.
Between nest cam live streams, a public forum, and a Facebook page, more than 3,000 local (and worldwide) viewers have tuned in to watch the City Hall falcons nest, lay, and hatch their eggs — year after year..
This year is no different — our matriarch, Grace, laid her eggs in late March to early April, and the livestream has been on pins and needles waiting for them to hatch. As of Tuesday night, they are on the verge. 🥚
⭐ Our stars
The star of the show wasn’t always Grace. In 2006, a one-year-old falcon named Clara was spotted frequenting City Hall’s 18th floor ledge — she was one of the first falcons who nested + came back to San Jose every season.
After the sighting was reported to the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, a nest box with cameras was installed, thus beginning San Jose’s very own nature show.
Clara has come and gone since then, and our city has seen several other falcons take up residence in City Hall. As of 2019, Grace — a rare, six-year-old falcon, has been our main star.
🔥 Season recap
Early February, Grace was seen bonding with a potential mate, named Lucas. But just as things seemed to heat up, Pedro arrived in early March and took over as her official mate.
The eggs were laid between March 28 and April 2, with the hard incubation (minimal time away from the eggs) starting on April 2. Since then, Pedro and Grace have taken turns guarding the eggs + gathering food.
👀 Stay tuned in
Forum members are predicting the eggs to hatch on Fri., May 5 — and once the offspring’s genders are known + they’re banded, you can participate in a naming contest put out by the falcon forum.
Around June 13, the group will enlist helpers through the forum during the fledge watch. This role helps the juvenile birds as they learn to take flight — retrieving them on the ground, bringing them back to their perch + allowing them to try again.
Let us know if you’ll be watching, and what you’d like the baby falcons’ names to be by emailing hello@thesjtoday.com.