A beloved peregrine falcon hatched atop UC Berkeley’s Campanile tower died this week of an unknown illness shortly after being released back into the wild following surgery for a broken wing.
Equinox, or Nox for short, was born to a falcon that nests at the top of the tower beneath a webcam that has been live-streaming to thousands of ornithophiles worldwide since 2019.
On Monday, the six-month-old falcon was found emaciated in a Richmond resident’s yard and taken to a veterinary hospital at UC Davis for treatment, according to UC Berkeley News. The bird received a blood transfusion but died on Wednesday. Veterinarians were still working to determine the cause of death.
In July, Nox suffered a broken wing in the Berkeley Marina and had surgery at UC Davis’ veterinary hospital. After rehabilitation at the university’s California Raptor Center, Nox was released at a shoreline park in the East Bay on Oct. 18.
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Nox was one of four chicks born in May to Annie, a falcon that has hatched almost two dozen chicks at the tower since 2016, according to UC Berkeley News.
On the Facebook page Cal Falcons, which is dedicated to the birds nesting on the Campanile, webcam watchers shared their memories of Nox, whom they nicknamed “Little Boy Blue” for the falcon’s diminutive stature and blue leg band, and thanked the UC Davis veterinarians who treated him.
“We all are completely devastated here at Cal Falcons,” the group wrote in a Facebook post. “Nox had such an immediately captivating joy and energy whenever he was on camera.”