San Francisco tours; well known for getting hundreds of thousands of visitors around to take in the city’s world famous sightseeing attractions such as Alcatraz, Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, and bird watching downtown. Well, while that last one is not generally what tourists come to San Francisco for, it has become something of interest to travelers from around the globe ever since two falcons have decided to make their home at the corner of Mission and Main on Market Street.
The peregrine falcons can be found flying in and out of their nest so regularly that they are easily viewed by those seeking to have a look from down below, making them a new and well known stop on many tourists’ lists of things to see during their stays. The birds have been named, Diamond Lil and Dapper Dan, and they are expectant parents, with four eggs in the nest so observers can expect to see some new hatchlings shortly. After forty days of feeding and talking with their parents about leaving the nest, they will fly out of it for the first time. Within weeks of that accomplishment, they will leave the next behind, so plan your sightings accordingly.
It’s not actually all that unusual to see falcons at this locale, as the nest had two previous falcons, named Gracie and George, but that couple was run out of the neighborhood when Dapper Dan decided that he wanted to move into the area, and an aerial battle witnessed by many, gave him the property.
While for many just their beauty is enough to warrant spending time watching, others enjoy the speeds of well over 200 miles per hour when hunting, and aerobatics on display as the falcons hunt from the buffet of pigeons in the downtown area, and then feast on those rewards within public view. While there are about twenty five pairs of peregrine falcons known to be in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is only one pair in downtown San Francisco.
