Good news! Baltimore’s peregrine falcon pair, Boh and Barb, have four eggs in their nest, high above Baltimore on the 33rd floor of the Transamerica building at 100 Light St.

The saga of Baltimore and its resident peregrines, spanning several generations of birds, goes back more than 35 years.

This decades-long soap opera — perhaps a good title would be “As the Falcon Flies,” or “Birds Over Baltimore” (or maybe, in a nod to ’80s TV, “Falcon Nest”) — began when Scarlett, a falcon bred and released by Cornell University ornithologists, found her way to Charm City in 1978. That February, she first stopped, without prompting, at the Baltimore Zoo for a snack of pigeons and starlings. Soon thereafter, she then discovered an ideal cliff on what was then the USF&G building.

Peregrine falcons were almost driven to extinction by the use of the now-banned pesticide DDT, which weakened peregrine falcon eggs. The Peregrine Falcon Fund at Cornell University and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, along with other groups, are responsible for their comeback.

Thanks to a little help from her friends, a man-made nest was soon built on a window ledge at the USF&G building, and Scarlett was back looking for a mate. When no one showed up, human intervention — some might call it matchmaking — produced a male falcon named Blue Meanie, who was brought from Texas. Although he was confined at first to a large walk-in cage, so Scarlett could easily find him (to stack the deck even further, the sounds of a wooing male falcon were played through a loudspeaker), Blue Meanie seemed a worthy mate. Scarlett took a while to take notice, but after 10 days, the courtship began; Scarlett soon laid three eggs, but they proved infertile.

When Blue Meanie was let out of his cage, the couple flew around the building. Blue Meanie, however, soon disappeared.

A second male falcon, Misha, was brought in, but there were no sparks.

A third time proved the charm, however — kinda. Rhett was brought in and the falcons mated, but Scarlett’s eggs again proved infertile. The couple, however, did raise four eyases (the name for falcon chicks) after ornithologists placed adopted chicks in their nest.

Tragically, Rhett died soon thereafter, having ingested strychnine from eating a poisoned pigeon.

Next came Percy, but he was taken back to Cornell. Ashley was brought in, and unlike their namesakes from “Gone With the Wind,” Scarlett and Ashley made a go of it. Scarlett again laid infertile eggs, but for five weeks the couple tried to raise two foster eyases, which didn’t survive.

Ashley, having survived a gunshot wound, was killed after colliding with a vehicle on the Key Bridge.

Then, nature took a hand in things. Out of the blue, a wild peregrine falcon named Beauregard showed up — and soon, there was avian love in the skies over Baltimore.

Falcons mate for life, and Scarlett and Beauregard proved a fertile couple. They soon had a brood of four eyases in April 1984 — the first peregrine chicks known to have hatched in the wild in eastern North America since the 1950s.

Over her lifetime, Scarlett proved a great mom, raising 17 adopted chicks before having her own.

Sadly, Scarlett passed away in September 1984 after a throat injury led to starvation. Bird watchers across the nation mourned her death. As did Beauregard, who cried out for days.

But happier days prevailed. Beauregard soon met Blythe, who heard his sad calls from miles away and showed up on his ledge. Romance bloomed, with the couple producing many eyases and remaining a happy couple for many, many years. She died in 1992. Beauregard continued fathering several broods for years to come — and finding love on the 33rd floor.

Which brings us to the reigning monarchs in the skies over Baltimore, Barb and Boh.

The soap opera continues.

 -Paul McCardell   (pmccardell@baltsun.com)

Watch the live webcam of Barb and Boh’s daily life here:   http://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org/peregrine-falcon-webcam