By Khalida Sarwari
A fourth falcon egg hatched atop San Jose City Hall early this morning, city spokeswoman Michelle McGurk said.
The baby falcon weighs about 30 grams and joins three other falcons born in their nest on a ledge atop San Jose City Hall on Sunday to celebrity parents Clara and Esteban Colbert.
The FalconCam, a live streaming video of the falcon’s nest on a City Hall ledge 18 stories above the street, showed the fourth egg cracking Tuesday.
The baby falcons and their mother are healthy, McGurk said. Because none of them has feathers yet, Clara continues to sit on top of them to keep them warm, she said.
The only concern is that the fourth baby falcon will compete for food with the others, who are now at least 60 grams. But the new falcon will have a chance to eat once the others sleep, McGurk said.
The city will hold a contest for youth between 5 and 18 to name the four chicks. Nominations can be submitted by May 1 to mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov or by mail to: Falcon Naming c/o Mayor’s Office, 200 E. Santa Clara St., 18th Floor, San Jose, CA 95113.
Around the second week of May, the nominations will be open for online voting. The chicks will be named before they take flight in 42 to 44 days from now.
This is Clara’s fourth nesting season at City Hall and her second with mate Esteban Colbert.
The FalconCam can be viewed on the city’s Web site at http://www.sanjoseca.gov. The FalconCam was recently upgraded and now includes a second camera that provides new vistas around the nestbox and City Hall.