Extra

The peregrine falcon pair that nests atop UC Berkeley’s Sather Tower (the Campanile) have received a lot of press and public attention in recent years, including this spring.

But Berkeley has many communities and neighborhoods. Have falcons taken up residence in the southwest portion of town as well?

This weekend (April 18/19) we made a quick trip to Outdoor Supply Hardware on Ashby Avenue to get a part for a home repair. The OSH store is located in part of the historic and landmark Heinz Plant, that occupies a square block bordered by Ashby, San Pablo, and Heinz Street.

The plant is a U-shaped complex with a large central parking lot and a huge, freestanding, water tower. In recent decades the water tower has mainly served as a perch for cell phone antennae.

When we came out of the store there was a strong bird call—“kee! kee! kee!”—in the air. What certainly appeared to be a falcon was perched atop a lamp post in the parking lot. After a minute, he or she took off, flying heavily, carrying what looked like the wing of a dead pigeon (the water tower is also quite near Aquatic Park, which has a large number of other bird species that might serve as falcon prey).

The falcon circled the building complex a couple of times, then landed on the catwalk surrounding the water tank. I did not get a picture, but others in the parking lot did. Two are shown here.

Note that the falcon doesn’t seem to have a leg band, implying it’s not one of the progeny of the falcon pair from the Campanile.

Was there a nest up there on the water tower? A pair of peregrines? Or was this one just on a hunting trip, passing through on its way to home elsewhere? I leave it to the falcon experts to figure out, from ground based observation.

You can see the water tower from the parking lot, the public street, and also from the parking lot of West Berkeley Bowl across the street. If you're making a trip to Berkeley Bowl or OSH for essential goods or taking an exercise walk through the neighborhood you can bird-watch as well. Keep your appropriate social distance from two-legs and don't disturb the avians!