San Jose Peregrine falcon chicks get banded as part of greater Bay Area monitoring program

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Researchers banded four peregrine falcon chicks Wednesday morning at San Jose City Hall as part of a long-running monitoring effort in the Bay Area.

Dr. Zeka Glucs of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, along with colleagues, banded the chicks at 8 a.m. In a first for the program, each chick will also be fitted with a radio transmitter attached to its leg to allow researchers to remotely track movements and location.

The effort is part of a decades-long peregrine falcon monitoring program focused on the Greater San Francisco Bay region.

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Researchers say peregrine falcon populations are facing a steep decline due to avian flu, which the birds contract from their prey. Of 47 nests monitored in the Bay Area in 2020, only 11 remain occupied by healthy breeding adult peregrines.

Some previously active nesting sites have gone quiet, including the well-known Berkeley Campanile nest, which has remained empty for the past two years.

Scientists consider the San Jose City Hall nest especially important to sustaining the peregrine falcon population in the region, making the monitoring.