Fledge watch 6-29-14
By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK
The humidity is starting to get oppressive here in Rochester-it was 73 (F) 23 (C) at 6am with a mix of sun and clouds as I started my watch
Joining Dan on the Broad St. Bridge he gave me the rundown when I got out the car-Dot.Ca (DC) had brought a small package earlier and all 4 kids were present on Times Square (TSB) and DC was on the top ibeam south corner of OCSR. I turned around to face the nest box area and caught Beauty flying in from the northeast with a large, pigeon sized package-it’s like eating Wheaties for us to start the day! lol The Beautyful one landed out on the well wall by the boys and started plucking feathers as they watched and learned-everything is a lesson learned to help them become self-sufficient for when they venture out on their own.
Make sure to click on my pics for the full version
As Beauty fed the boys, Nettie decided she wanted in on the action and started making her way down the wall.
Our attention went from her to DC as Dan yelled out-he’s off and after something over the river! Sure enough DC snatched a small bird out of the air near Cornhill and took it to the deck. He started feeding the girls as Beauty continued to feed the boys.
DC finished feeding them and flew up under the northeast wing as Beauty flew to the base of Mercury to cache leftovers on the side we couldn’t see from the bridge. Mercury flew up on cam 4 and Louise joined Dan and I.
One minute you see a bunch of them and then they all disappear, Beauty flies in and lands on cam 1 and they start coming back out of hiding. What fun!
During this time period watchers were joining the watch 1 after another-Lisa,Dana,Kathy and Larry. As it was time for Dan to leave we all made the move down to the hole, set up our chairs and waited for some action. Judy,Jay and Dick also came by to have a look as well. At 7:48am we got our action in the form of Mercury taking his first flight of the day over to the southeast corner of Crossroads and DC flew off right after and went to OCSR to keep an eye on his first fledgling.
Like his brother, Nor’Easter did yesterday, Mercury flew across to the other side and started walking around up there only to disappear for a long stretch of time. Jeanne came out for her first fledge watch of the season just in time to see Nor’Easter fly up under northeast wing where he too, left our sight going to the back of the ledge. The girls in the mean time hung out on the wall and deck.
<Nor’E 
Around 10:15am Mercury appeared and after preparing himself at length to take off , flew over and tried to land next to his brother under the wing but didn’t quite make it and ended up on the column above the nest box and promptly disappeared. The girls continued to mess around on the wall.
I left the watch somewhere after 11am to take a break and get my report done so I could get back out late afternoon. I came across this young buck in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery as I cut thru there to run an errand. There was a doe with him but she ran off when I stopped the car.
Falcons and deer on a quiet Sunday morning-what better reason to smile! 🙂
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