Equinox (aka Nox), a peregrine falcon who rose to fame on a popular webcam feed, was released to the wild last week after undergoing surgery to repair his broken wing. While the operation appeared to be a success, his return to the wild has encountered a hiccup.
Nox was born to two peregrine falcons, Annie and Archie, who have been under the watchful eye of UC Berkeley’s live-streaming webcam since 2019.
Back in July, he was found floundering in the water of California’s Berkeley Marina with injuries to his right wing. He was quickly transported to UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital where he underwent surgery to repair the fractures.
Over the following three months, he received care at the California Raptor Center and underwent a course of pre-flight conditioning from an expert falconer.
“He had a significant handicap in that wing, like when someone has a broken leg and is hobbling. We weren’t so sure this one could be released. But boy, with each flight he got better… his muscles were there, I just had to wake them up,” Bill Ferrier, a falconer, veterinarian, and former director of the California Raptor Center, said in a statement.
“He’ll be successful. The bird is a really good hunter. He’s also a nice bird. I like him a lot. In fact, I’ll certainly miss him,” said Ferrier.
Experts at the California Raptor Center at UC Davis have commented how a badly broken wing would have effectively been a death sentence for a bird of prey just 20 years ago, but recent breakthroughs in biomedical science have made it possible to repair such injuries.
“Orthopedic materials have made it possible to put together tiny little bones like what’s in your pinky finger. That gave the bones the structure that was necessary for Nox’s healing,” Michelle Hawkins, director of the California Raptor Center at UC Davis, said in another statement.
 Trina Wood, UC Davis.jpg "Nox gets released into the wild (with a snack in his talons).")
Nox gets released into the wild (with a snack in his talons).
Image credit: Trina Wood/UC Davis
On Friday, October 19, Nox was released into the wild from an East Bay shoreline park. Within just a couple of days, he had flown over 128 kilometers (80 miles). All appeared to be going well – until things took an unexpected turn.
On October 21, Nox had been recaptured and was found to be suffering from acute emaciation. He’s currently recovering at UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital and his condition is, thankfully, stable.
“He looks much better than he did when he came in. But he’s not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination,” said Hawkins.
Further updates on his condition will be made available on the California Raptor Center’s Facebook page.
