Happy Earth Day

It's Earth Day here in the US.
I hadn't realized it was coming up until a couple days ago, so by the time I started looking for some place to volunteer my time, it was too late. So for my little part I decided not to drive today. Mary and I walked to lunch and we plan to walk to my friends house for dinner tonight. We also did some much needed yard work including mowing the lawn, trimming the hedge and whacking some weeds, all with electric or manual tools. I was planing to go to Home Depot to get a free CFL light bulb (they are giving away 1 million on Earth Day), but I have not gotten around to it so far.

On Friday I went to the San Jose Library to see a presentation on raptor conservation. It was given by Glenn Stewart of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG). The main attraction was Curtis (picture on right), a 6 year old male Peregrine falcon Glenn raised by hand. Curtis was raised specifically for educational purposed like this presentation. He lives in an indoor/outdoor bird facility at Glenn's house and is taken out to fly regularly. I have more pictures of Curtis on my Gallery Peregrine falcon page.

Peregrine falcon's had dwindled down to only 2 know mating pairs in California in th 1970's, primarily due to DDT. With the banning of DDT and reintroduction programs of groups like the SCPBRG there are estimated to be around 200 nesting pairs in California today. In fact, there's even a pair nesting on San Jose City Hall.

The San Jose falcons are named Clara and Jose. There have been falcons living in San Jose for a few years now, but this is the first know nesting pair. When it became obvious that they were planning to nest, SCPBRG installed a nesting box and web camera on the City Hall, a fairly lofty location which should be good for Peregrine nests. It worked! The pair moved into the nest and produced three eggs in late March. Progress can be monitored on SCPBRG's San Jose Falcon Camera site. The Peregrines in San Jose also prompted the formation of the San Jose Peregrine Falcon Association, a non-profit group dedicated to witnessing, educating and sharing their falcon experiences with others. I, for one, an looking forward to seeing those eggs hatch!