This April, the biggest show in town just might be two ferocious birds hatching eggs on a big screen in Berkeley.
Hatch Day, as it’s been deemed, will arrive on April 24 and will feature UC Berkeley’s famous peregrine falcons, which nest in the university’s Campanile bell tower. This year, Annie and her new mate Archie have manifested four eggs, and scientists have somehow predicted the exact date of their cracking. To celebrate the momentous occasion, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive will livestream the hatching via the falcon’s Nest Cam on a huge screen from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the corner of Addison and Oxford streets.
“There will be an information booth with falcon experts stationed along the screen,” says A.J. Fox, the museum’s media-relations manager. “So if people have questions about what they’re watching or about falcons in general, they can ask qualified ornithologists literally while the hatching is happening. So we’re very excited about that.”
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For those not familiar with these renowned raptors, Annie moved into the bell tower in 2016 and ever since has led a life of drama, love triangles and joyous births. This paper’s longtime wildlife writer, Joan Morris, chronicled the complicated saga of the falcons’ lives, which you can read in all its pearl-clutching splendor here.
As of this moment, there’s no raincheck date in the event that the eggs fail to hatch. “But we’re optimistic that the falcon experts’ predictions will prove to be correct,” says Fox, “as they have each time we’ve done this in the past!”
If you can’t make the physical Hatch Day party, don’t despair. The Nest Cam is broadcast 24 hours live for the world’s enjoyment at calfalcons.berkeley.edu/webcams.