Affectionately named Stormy and Sunny by community vote, the pair of hawks that watch over the Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus are expected to begin nesting soon.
February 14, 2023 – Oakland, CA – Alameda Health System (AHS) has installed a live camera on the nest of Stormy and Sunny, the pair of red-tailed hawks who soar over the Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus.
The love birds have amused patients, staff and local bird enthusiasts for several seasons. They call out to each other in the iconic hawk-cries many will recognize from Western movies while flying over the hospital campus that has become their territory. Many patients delight in watching from their hospitals rooms as Stormy and Sunny swoop past windows to the internal courtyard below in chase of prey.
Red-tailed hawks are romantics who tend to mate in long-term, if not life-long, monogamous relationships. Last year, Stormy and Sunny raised chicks from their nest perched high in an evergreen tree near the historic entrance to the original Highland Hospital building on 14th Avenue in Oakland. Alameda Health System worked with predatory bird expert and wildlife ecologist Dr. Peter Sharpe to install a live-stream camera on the nest in the hopes that it will capture this year’s hatchlings.
According to Dr. Sharpe, “They are likely to begin nesting in March and typically lay up to four eggs that hatch in about 28 to 35 days. Once they hatch, the chicks are cared for in the nest until they take their first flight at about 6 weeks of age.”
You can live-stream Stormy & Sunny’s Alameda Health System (AHS) Hawk Camera here.
About Alameda Health System
Alameda Health System (AHS) is a leading public integrated health care provider and medical training institution recognized for its world-class patient and family-centered care. AHS provides comprehensive medical treatment, health promotion and disease prevention throughout our integrated network of hospitals, clinics and health services. AHS includes three acute care hospitals, four ambulatory care wellness centers, four post-acute facilities and the only psychiatric emergency department in Alameda County. AHS is committed to promoting wellness and optimizing the health of the community through the mission of caring, healing, teaching and serving all. For more information, visit AlamedaHealthSystem.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Eleanor Ajala
Manager, Media and Communications
Alameda Health System
(510) 421-9222
eajala@alamedahealthsystem.org
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