Plan B Forum

2010 HATCHING: Possibly one late Saturday evening 4/10, two hatched for sure 4/11 with 3 eyasses visible; the fourth may have hatched late 4/13, with four eyasses clearly visible by 6:30a PT 4/14.

Newly hatched SJ falcon chick dies


SAN JOSE, CA -- Within just a week of hatching, the fourth falcon chick belonging to famed San Jose falcons Clara and Esteban Colbert has died.


The fourth falcon egg hatched early Wednesday morning, and the new falcon joined three other chicks in their nest on a ledge atop San Jose City Hall.

The youngest chick struggled during its short life and died over the weekend, city spokeswoman Michelle McGurk said. She said falcons are wild animals, and that in nature half of young peregrines survive their first year of life.


Related Content
link: San Jose City Hall falcon cam

link: San Jose falcons naming contest

Story: SJ City Hall falcon lays egg
Glenn Stewart, from the University of California Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, said the cause of the chick's death can't be determined.

"We will never know whether it was some physical malady, lateness of hatch, or just bad luck that had a hand in the outcome for chick No. 4," Stewart said. "We do know that not every egg hatches, not every chick survives, and not every fledgling survives its first flights."

The city is holding a contest for youth between 5 and 18 to name the remaining three chicks. Nominations can be submitted by May 1 to mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov or by mail to: Falcon Naming c/o Mayor's Office, 200 E. Santa Clara St., 18th Floor, San Jose, CA 95113.

Around the second week of May, the nominations will be open for online voting. The chicks will be named before they take flight. This is Clara's fourth nesting season at City Hall and her second with mate Esteban Colbert.

The FalconCam, a live streaming video of the falcon's nest on a City Hall ledge 18 stories above the street, can be viewed on the city's Web site at http://www.sanjoseca.gov.


(Copyright 2010 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, re-transmission or reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. Is prohibited.)

Names unveiled for latest San Jose falcon chicks.
By Lisa Fernandez



Related Stories
May 3:
San Jose City Hall falcon genders announced: Two boys, one girlApr 30:
San Jose: Kids, you have until Monday to name City Hall's baby falconsApr 19:
San Jose falcon watchers mourning death of one City Hall chickApr 12:
San Jose City Hall chicks hatchedIt was good news, bad news Thursday for the falcon chicks born on San Jose City Hall's ledge this spring.

One of the male eyeases was found dead. A spokeswoman for Mayor Chuck Reed said the chick appeared to have died either late Wednesday or early Thursday.

"These are creatures of the wild," said spokeswoman Michelle McGurk. "It's still very sad."

But the two remaining chicks — one male, one female — were christened with names selected in a contest Reed hosted.

More than 1,600 online voters selected Maya as the name of the female bird and Kekoa as the name of the male.

The winning monickers were chosen from nearly 130 submitted by city schoolchildren.

The chicks were the latest born to parents named Clara and Esteban.

For the past four nesting seasons, Clara has given birth atop city hall to much fanfare.

San Jose City Hall falcon chick flies for first time

By Lisa Fernandez

lfernandez@mercurynews.com
Posted: 05/24/2010 10:04:42 AM PDT
Updated: 05/24/2010 01:00:36 PM PDT

On the Web

* Live falcon cam

Related Stories

* May 25:
* Second San Jose City Hall falcon chick flies for first time
* May 13:
* Names unveiled for latest San Jose falcon chicks.
* May 3:
* San Jose City Hall falcon genders announced: Two boys, one girl
* Apr 30:
* San Jose: Kids, you have until Monday to name City Hall's baby falcons
* Apr 19:
* San Jose falcon watchers mourning death of one City Hall chick
* Apr 12:
* San Jose City Hall chicks hatched

A falcon named Kekoa has fledged from his family's perch atop San Jose City Hall, and observers are anxiously awaiting for his sister, Maya to leave her nest soon.

Evet Loewen, chief deputy city attorney and a voluntary group leader for watching the family of falcons who call San Jose home, said Kekoa began flying for the first time on Friday about 8: 30 p.m. A team of volunteer falcon observers who are stationed nearby at the Fourth Street Garage witnessed his flight, and then canvassed on Saturday to spot him on top of the Rotunda. Loewen said Kekoa keeps trying out his new wings, and observers expect Maya to take off any minute.

Kekoa and Maya lost an unnamed falcon brother earlier this month even before he was old enough to fly. The young falcons, born in April, are the offspring of mama falcon, Clara, and papa falcon, Esteban Colbert.