birds

Annie the Falcon's chicks hatch atop UC Berkeley Campanile

Thursday, May 5, 2022

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Annie the Falcon is officially a new mom. The first of three peregrine falcon chicks hatched Thursday morning atop the Campanile at UC Berkeley.

The first hatched around 6:14 a.m. Many live stream viewers noticed Annie eating bits of its eggshell. Experts say this is so she can regain some of the calcium she lost.

Several major developments have happened in recent months in Annie's life.

Her longtime mate, Grinnell, was found deceased in late March. He was apparently hit by a car, according to the Cal Falcon's research team.

They lived together atop U.C. Berkeley's tower since 2016.

Then, you may recall she had a new "bird boyfriend" who swooped in just hours after the death of her of Grinnell.

Then, Annie's new "boyfriend" needed a new name and after public voting, it was narrowed down to nine finalists: Archie, Morgan, Alden, Ed, Lou, Takaki, Calvin, Savio and Ned.

Annie, the peregrine falcon, was spotted with new male falcon at its UC Berkeley tower just one day after the death of her longtime partner, Grinnell.

All of the names had a connection to U.C. Berkeley's history.

Fans voted and Alden was the chosen name.

But Annie had other things going in her life. Before Grinnell's death and having "Alden" as a new boyfriend, she went missing for a while back in February before returning to her nest.

Now, her chicks are hatching.