Alcatraz's falcon webcam takes flight

Viewers can now watch a pair of nesting Peregrine falcons on Alcatraz Island thanks to a recently launched webcam by the National Parks Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

The inspiration for the bird camera came from UC Berkeley which has had cameras installed to watch its well-known Peregrine falcon nest atop the campus' historic Campanile Tower.

Indeed, the connections to Cal run even deeper than that. One of the falcons on Alcatraz, Lawrencium, was hatched in 2018 by Annie, the most well-known winged resident of UC Berkeley. 

The arrival of Lawrencium, aka Larry, was the first time that Peregrine falcons had been detected nesting on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy said online.

Peregrine falcons are touted for being the fastest birds in the world. The National Parks Service said that it has been monitoring this pair of feathered friends since 2020.