Update: First falcon chick hatches in nest atop UC Berkeley's Campanile tower
BERKELEY -- The first falcon chick from the four eggs currently in a nest atop UC Berkeley's Campanile tower hatched Monday afternoon.
The Twitter account associated with the Cal Falcon Cam website had posted that there was activity earlier Monday, noting that there were two "pips" or small cracks in the eggs that indicated the chicks could be hatching. Cal Falcons is the group of scientists that monitors the falcons and regularly posts photos, commentary and memes about them onto social media.
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The first hatchling emerged at around 3:19 p.m., according to the account.
Officials had previously said the first of four eggs of a falcon named Annie and her new mate Lou was expected to hatch sometime between 8 p.m. Monday and 5 a.m. Tuesday and were planning to hold a Hatch Day celebration at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA).
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The falcon cam was set to broadcast live from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for free on an outdoor screen, hopefully capturing the moments as the chicks hatch from their eggs. A team of falcon experts will also share information and insights about the birds during the event. More details about the hatch party for Annie and Lou's chicks can be found at the BAMPFA website.
Cal Falcons wrote in an update Friday that signs of eggs starting to hatch may happen as early as Saturday evening.
The livestream of the falcon camera can be watched on YouTube. The Cal Falcons site is also selling a commemorative t-shirt to raise funds to support education, outreach, and maintenance of the livestream.
The chicks' mother Annie has had an eventful past year.
According to UC Berkeley, in March 2022, Annie's longtime partner Grinnell was found dead on campus. Eggs Annie laid before Grinnell's death would not have hatched except for the arrival of a new falcon, eventually named Alden, that helped incubate the eggs.
Two eventually hatched that were named Grinnell Jr. and Lindsay, named after Walnut Creek's Lindsay Wildlife Experience that took in Grinnell for rehabilitation after he was found injured in a 2021 tussle with rival falcons at the Berkeley Tennis Club.
Lindsay then was found dead in August from an apparent attack by a red-shouldered hawk. Annie's new mate Alden then left in November and was not seen again by the Cal Falcons group.
That allowed the latest mate to swoop in, and a naming contest held by the school this February left him with the name Lou, a reference to Louise Kellogg, a UC Berkeley alumna who was the partner of Annie's namesake, Annie Alexander.
