It’s banding day and I had a tab open to watch. But it turned out banding happened nearly two hours after they said they were on the roof getting ready to rappel down and I thought I must have missed it.

Plus there was less to see: in all these years the parents have vigorously defended their young, coming in close but never making actual contact. Till today. (Screen grab courtesy San Jose City Hall.)

UC Santa Cruz professor Zeka Glucs had her GoPro camera on top of her helmet. But not for long: Hartley, the female, swooped in, talons out, and knocked it right off her head. They hope the damage is not too much and to be able to retrieve at least its initial video. One fierce peregrine mama coming right at it in 1, 2, 3…!

Imagine having a raptor that can dive at 241 mph coming right at your head.

The count is indeed three females and one male, the one that’s two days younger. Females are a third larger because they have to be able to cover all their young since they do most of the brooding and keeping the young warm before they’re old enough to thermoregulate.

The parents tend to fill the tallest beak first and from the get-go Little knew the drill and would leap up for it again and again in order to get as high as his sisters, showing how energetic and fit and survival-worthy he is and intercepting like a basketball star.

These parents bring lots of food and those young are well fed. And healthy!

(Edited to add photos retrieved from the GoPro!)