Campus news

Nox the falcon has died, UC Davis wildlife specialists report

UC Berkeley's youngest falcon and a favorite of fans of the campus's falcon family, died last night after a rocky start to life on his own.

By Gretchen Kell

Nox, the youngest and smallest of the four new falcons on campus, flies for the first time on Tuesday, June 4.
Nox, short for Equinox, hatched on Berkeley's Campanile on April 24. He took his first flight off the tower on June 4.

Bridget Ahern for UC Berkeley

October 24, 2024

Released into the wild last Friday following surgery for a broken wing and months of rehabilitation, UC Berkeley’s youngest falcon died yesterday night (Wednesday, Oct. 23) after being brought the previous day to UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital with acute emaciation.

Nox was rescued in Richmond on Monday, three days after he had been released into the wild, and was taken to the veterinary hospital at UC Davis for assessment and care.

He received a blood transfusion there on Tuesday from Phoenix, an ambassador peregrine falcon, and yesterday he was eating and stable, but “not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination,” Michelle Hawkins, director of the UC Davis California Raptor Center, reported on Wednesday.

UC Davis wildlife specialists issued a statement this morning that they are “deeply saddened” to share news of Nox’s death and that a post-mortem exam is being conducted to determine the cause.

Further information will be available on the UC Davis California Raptor Center Facebook page. Check Berkeley News later today for a story about Nox, a much loved member of the campus’s falcon family.