SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Love is in the air atop PG&E’s San Francisco headquarters, where a pair of peregrine falcons laid their first egg of the nesting season just in time for Valentine’s Day.
The egg made its appearance in the nesting box late Tuesday, and is visible via the live, high-definition falcon webcam PG&E maintains on the building’s 33rd floor.
Bird lovers can catch a glimpse of the falcons nesting by watching our live webcam at www.pge.com/falconcam.
If all goes well, the lovebirds, nicknamed Val and Cupid in honor of today’s holiday, will lay another egg in about two days. They could produce up to four eggs in this season’s clutch.
The parents will begin the month-long incubation period after the female lays her second-to-last egg. The mother and father will take turns sitting on the eggs and hunting for food.
In May 2017, another falcon pair laid four eggs in the nest. Three of the eggs hatched, producing two females and a male named Steph, KD and Iggy after Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Andre Igoudala of the world-champion Golden State Warriors. All three baby falcons successfully fledged the nest in July after scientists with the University of California-Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group banded them for tracking.
Glenn Stewart, director of the group, called the Valentine’s Day arrival the “perfect” timing, though he also said he’s “quite certain” the egg marks the earliest-ever Bay Area peregrine falcon laying on record.
“Very exciting – it begins again!” Stewart said.
The research group has watched as nearly 40 baby falcons have taken their first flights from PG&E’s headquarters since 2007.
The PG&E webcam garnered roughly 100,000 visits during 2017’s nesting season.
The fastest animal species on earth, peregrine falcons have a top dive speed of 200 mph. They feast mostly on other birds, including pigeons and seagulls.
Between World War II and the 1970s, the peregrine falcon population nearly disappeared due to toxic chemicals. But thanks to the Endangered Species Act and the good work of groups like the one at UC-Santa Cruz, there are now about 300 pairs of peregrine falcons in California.
For two decades, PG&E has supported the recovery of California's peregrine falcon population, which was once near extinction. This includes more than $270,000 in grants – including $10,000 in 2017 – to the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group’s community outreach and education programs.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 24,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation’s cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and pge.com/news.
