Scott Craven

The Republic | azcentral.com

The month-old peregrine falcon chick that captured attention and hearts as its life was captured on a downtown Phoenix webcam died Saturday due to injuries from a fall.

The chick, which hatched on Mother’s Day, was on a ledge out of camera range when it slipped and fell from the Maricopa County administration building, said Randy Babb, the wildlife viewing manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Officials monitoring the nest quickly recovered the chick, which remarkably did not suffer any obvious injuries after the 10-story fall, Babb said. However, after X-rays revealed no broken bones and the chick was returned to the nest, it died a short time later, Babb said.

He said the chick may have suffered internal injuries the X-rays did not reveal. Heat also may have been a factor.

“We’re just not sure the exact cause of death,” Babb said. “But it all relates to the fall. The heat was intense but falcons can usually adjust to that.”

Babb said falcon chicks often leave the nest to explore along ledges. Falls are not uncommon.

“It happens in the wild all the time,” Babb said. “A number of falcon chicks die each year that way. But this chick had been seen by thousands, so it makes it more difficult to accept.”

For more than a decade, falcons have been nesting near the top of the county administration building at Third Avenue and Jefferson Street. Game and Fish officials eventually built and installed a roosting box, hooking up a webcam so people could watch nature unfold.

And, Babb said, it’s not always pretty.

“It’s a shame what happened,” he said. “But in the end, it’s just nature.”

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