Bird's-Eye View At Oracle

Peregrine falcons that have taken roost on an Oracle rooftop have the perfect perch to view their prey--the waterfowl and shorebirds that frequent an on-campus lake. Thanks to a recently installed series of Webcams, Oracle employees and the general Web-surfing public can go online to get a bird's-eye view of a family of these endangered raptors.

After observing the birds' habits over several months, biologists from the University of California-Santa Cruz set up a nest box filled with aquarium gravel, the material most favored by these avian urban dwellers, and Oracle set up Webcams for closer study. The nonprofit Peregrine Fund says many newly established pairs nest in manmade structures.

"It is easy to see why peregrines have adopted this 'urban cliff' as a nesting territory," says the university's Predatory Bird Research Group site. "The Oracle buildings offer excellent hunting perches and a nest site in the midst of fabulous peregrine habitat where previously, no nest cliff existed."

Right now, window washing near the perch is strictly verboten. It's not only company policy; it's the law: Endangered birds are not to be disturbed during nesting season.