The tone of the announcement — breathless, sheepish, exuberant — wasn't the sort of thing one associates with research scientists. But then, it isn't often that scientists are called on to mend our broken hearts.
"We have to take a moment to sincerely apologize, but this is something that is totally unexpected and goes against pretty much everything we've seen," read the March 1 message from @calfalconcam, a Twitter account operated by a team of ornithologists at UC Berkeley. "Annie is … back!"
Annie is a female peregrine falcon who, since 2016, has been sheltering and laying eggs atop the university's 307-foot-tall Sather Tower with her mate, Grinnell. She had gone missing in late February, at just the time the pair should have been settling down in preparation for a new brood. The suspicion was strong that other females spotted in the area had run her off, or worse.
