NEW CITY HALL FALCONS!

Mercury News
San Jose City Hall is once again home to baby peregrine falcons.
The big event happened overnight when two of the fledglings broke through their eggs sometime between 3 and 6 a.m., according to Evet Loewen, who helps moderate an online forum on the birds.

Loewen, who works out of the city attorney's office, saw the fledglings this morning on "Falcon Cam," a live streaming Webcam that has attracted more than 400,000 hits, according to city officials.

"It is wonderful. It is really neat they hatched today," Loewen said, referring to Earth Day. "We still have a couple eggs to go."

The proud parents, named Clara and Carlos, had been taking turns watching over the four eggs in their nest for weeks. Last year, Clara gave birth to three fledglings - named Spirit, Esperanza and Hiko by San Jose middle school students - who captivated a Web audience with their attempts at flight.

Those young falcons, banded with identification bands, left the nest last summer, and Bay Area bird watchers have spotted Esperanza at the Siebel building in Emeryville.