SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! What’s that sound? It’s Talon, Grace and Flash,
the peregrine falcon chicks that hatched atop PG&E’s San Francisco
headquarters last month. The baby birds received their names today just
after bird-loving Californians celebrated Mother’s Day.
More than 160 name entries were submitted by PG&E customers. Most
offered three names for the three young falcons, but some entered more.
Many, many more.
And that’s true of Heather Wingfield’s kindergarten class at Lakeside
Elementary in Los Gatos. The 20 youngsters provided 20 potential names,
including the three winning choices. It turns out that Andrea Henke, a
PG&E senior wildlife biologist, has a son in the class. At Henke’s
suggestion, Mrs. Wingfield had the students give falcon names at the end
of a recent school day. “They all participated, each one raising their
hands and coming up very quickly (and creatively) with all the
names. The kids are very savvy with raptors since they have just come
off of a month-long owl unit,” Henke said.
In all, more than 600 names were submitted. Names tended to endorse
trios – the Three Musketeers, the Three Stooges and the Three Amigos.
Many paid homage to the world-champ Golden State Warriors by submitting
Steph, Klay and Draymond. But it was impossible to resist the enthusiasm
of the 4- and 5-year-olds, who also offered choices like SuperChick,
Ketchup and Fast Wing.
The winning names were selected by representatives from PG&E as well as
from the SF_PGE_Falcon Yahoo group, which lovingly follows the progress
of the young birds via a nest webcam (www.pge.com/falconcam).
To celebrate the young falcons and their mother (and father), PG&E gave
the chicks their new names and presented a $10,000 donation to the
University of California Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group today
at PG&E’s San Francisco headquarters. Additionally, a researcher from
the group visited PG&E’s rooftop to band the young birds. Banding allows
researchers to track this species which once was near extinction.
“For two decades, PG&E has supported the recovery of California's
peregrine falcon population, which was once near extinction,” said Diane
Ross-leech, who directs PG&E’s environmental policy department. “And
we’re honored that members of this noble species choose our building in
downtown San Francisco to raise their young chicks.”
PG&E has provided more than $260,000 in grants to the UC Santa Cruz
Predatory Bird Research Group since 1998 to support its community
outreach and education programs.
Glenn Stewart, who directs the UC Santa Cruz program, carefully
inspected each young bird on Monday morning, and attached a band to a
leg of each. He determined that there are two females and one male in
the nest. Soon the birds will start learning to fly and they’ll
eventually leave the nest box in about a month.
“The birds are healthy and are being well cared for by the parents,”
Stewart said. “We thank PG&E and all those who support and follow the
successful recovery of the falcon population.”
During the banding, those on Beale and Mission streets 300 feet below
could hear the high-pitched squawking of parent falcons as they tried
their best to scare off Stewart and the small group who accompanied him
to the roof.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), and the PG&E Corporation Foundation strive to
power strong communities throughout Northern and Central California.
Through the 2015 Better Together Giving Program, PG&E contributed more
than $25 million to nearly 1,600 charitable organizations, including
matching the generosity of employees who donated more than $7.9 million
and volunteered more than 85,000 hours to company-supported events.
Community investments are funded entirely by the company’s shareholders.
For more information, visit www.pge.com/community.
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View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160509006745/en/
Source: Pacific Gas and Electric Company