Visigraf.com We see what you mean.

Just back from the brink of extinction, a pair of Peregrine Falcons raised 4 eyases (baby falcons) on a ledge high above Mission Street downtown in San Francisco this spring. The first flight for a baby falcon, the first fledge, is fraught with danger, particularly in an urban environment.

A dedicated team comprised of Glen Stewart from the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group and volunteers saved at least two of this years brood by protecting them when they landed somewhere dangerous, and returning them to the nest for a respite and another try. Without a group watching where those first flights went, without expert handling by trained people, it would have been tragic.

Here is a post to the newsgroup that is the tool of the San Francisco Falcon community from Glen Stewart, the Coordinator of the program:

Message #7624 of 7624
People like Joy...make this work. Dozens of people have taken time from work, fun and family,to spend time with falcons this week in SJ and SF. Their reward is a glimpse at the life of a peregrine.

Joy is a Librarian at the main SF Library. She has arrived each day with the first ferry to work the first shift of the day before beginning work at the library at 10 a.m. She worked all day at fledge watch on
her day off Friday and has taken a day of vacation to do so today. She got to
see Aleta fledge and now monitors her progress.

She accompanied me when I returned Aleta to the nest ledge on Friday so was afforded an up-close look at a wild falcon at dawn. There are no guarantees of such benefits when one signs up for fledge watch, but these are the commitments people make to help keep these birds safe.

Two birds have received elevator rides thanks to watchful eyes on the ground--elevator rides that saved their lives almost certainly. Both birds are now flying nicely thanks to a second chance provided by the simple activity of fledge watch.
A simple activity that changes routines and affords opportunities to view nature.

My thanks today to the many like Joy who have made this program a success--for falcon cam viewers, and for the falcons.
--glenn@scpbrg

The efforts of humans has, for the moment, brought these wonderful birds back from the brink of extinction. It didn't cost a lot, but a combination of scientists, activists, research funding, volunteers and support from the public has enabled these programs to allow the millions of years of evolution that produced these magnificent creatures to continue. The need is still here to help them continue, but as the numbers increase, more Peregrine Falcons have become reestablished in wild settings.

The financial district with it's flocks of pigeons ( a favorite food of the Peregrine) is a strong attraction. PG&E supports the program by cooperating with the biologists to provide a safe nesting site and a web camera that connects these birds with their supporters on line. It's wonderful to watch the babies hatch and grow, and scary to see them make their first flight from a few hundred feet up above a street full of buses and cars.

Here is a link to the Peregrine Falcon nest cameras:
Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group

Follow up June 18, 2010: The young falcon Aleta did indeed learn to fly, and enjoyed a brief life in San Francisco. Unfortunately, she apparently flew into a building and was injured. She was rescued again, and given good vet care. Aleta died from her injuries, attended by a human who hoped to help her back to a free life. Her two brothers and sister are doing well, and are eagerly followed by the Canyoneers as they grow and learn adult skills.

At this stage, they are still fed by the parents, often with impressive mid-air transfers of food from the adult to the young falcon high over the city. Sometimes the three young from this years nest are seen together on the ledge of the PG&E building where they were hatched. Soon it is expected they will be fully competent adults and will strike out on their own to find a territory of their own.