Famous UC Berkeley falcons part of wild raptor community documented by falconer Shawn Hayes

BERKELEY -- It's rare that expecting couples are treated to watch parties, and even rarer to have huge video screens set up for their big day. That was exactly the case at the University of California, Berkeley Tuesday, as folks gathered at the university's BAMPFA Hatch Day Celebration to witness the arrival of four much-anticipated hatchlings on the Jumbotron.

It seems like yesterday that UC Berkeley's famous Peregrine falcons Annie and Lou were caught en flagrant delit making out on the Cal Falcons Nest Cam last January. Since then, Annie has laid four beautiful eggs. Their due date was April 11, but one of them couldn't wait and hatched on Monday, a day early.

They are hardly alone, and are part of a natural wild, thriving community, according to falconer Shawn Hayes. Hiking the Jordan Fire Trail high above campus, he knows all the flora and fauna. It's a clear day and the sky is bright and clean after days and days of drought-busting rain.

"Those are ravens," he says, as a pair of blackbirds dance high overhead.

Hayes not only sees and hears those ravens, but he can also tell you what they're really doing.

"[They're] courting before nesting season," he said.

"I've seen three raptors since we've been on this ridge. In fact, there's one of the red-tailed hawks, right there," he said pointing to the sky.

Sure enough, as if on cue, a hawk cut an arc through the sky. In fact, Hayes' eyes are trained to see these birds. He practices the ancient art of falconry.

Stunning footage from the award-winning documentary, 'Game Hawker' captures his lifelong passion. Part conservationist part Renaissance man, Hayes says it is a lot like filmmaking.

"I'm the director, I'm the producer, I'm the editor. There are so there's so many moving parts in falconry and once you put them together, it's rewarding, and it also becomes fun," said Hayes. "I love watching my birds power up over a thousand feet and just dominate the sky."

The fastest bird on earth, on the hunt a falcon dives at speeds topping 200 mph. But the pesticide DDT brought these magnificent birds of prey to near extinction in the 70s, making their eggs so brittle they cracked.

Falconers and conservationists have brought their numbers back but almost half still don't survive their first year. That is why Hayes tries to make his raptors understand the importance of the hunt.

"It's not just about killing," he said. "When it's time for me to release that bird back out in the wild, I know that bird is going to survive because of the relationship, because it is an efficient hunter."

Sitting on a bench about a mile along the trail, one can see all the way to the Bay. It's breathtaking. In the distance, Hayes points to the Campanile, a bell tower with four clocks that has become a symbol of UC Berkeley.

"That's where those famous Berkeley peregrines nest and raise families every year in that tower right there on the Berkeley campus," he says.

Hayes says the foothills and urban areas are a food source for the falcons, teeming with rodents and pigeons to feed their young.

"The wind is coming from the ocean, it's coming from the Golden Gate Bridge, and they will use that air in this valley to get up in the air and then they'll take off to go hunting and they'll use that same air to come back," he explained. "They'll use the environments that they live in and not have to burn so much energy when they're out hunting and flying."

In fact, falcons are constantly hunting and flying in a world that's hidden in plain sight. Hayes says that's nature's gift.

"I look at this beautiful view, you know, and I'm thankful for that."

If Annie and Lou could talk, they just might say thank you to Shawn Hayes, for his amazing falconry -- and to all falconers and conservationists who've worked decades to make these 'Hatch Days' a reality.