Weekend – 3 Days of Fledge Watching – August has Arrived (8/1, 8/2 & 8/3/14)
By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.
Mostly cloudy days, with rain, thunder and lightning on and off. We did have a bit of sun yesterday, but that was it.
Now that August has arrived, we’ve noticed a bit of a change in the behavior of the young falcons. They still have their talon tag sessions, but they are becoming more intent on learning to hunt. These skills will be crucial if they are to survive when they leave their parents care. It won’t be too long before we stop seeing them. Sometimes they will leave the area on what we call day trips with the parents, but usually return.
It’s a sad, yet happy time for the watchers here in Rochester. Sad to see them leave, but happy knowing they are on their way to becoming what they were born to be, a Peregrine Falcon. So, that being said, I was very happy to hear that MAK and Dana saw all 4 juvies this morning on the early morning watch. Sorry I missed it.
I did make it downtown this morning in time to see 2 juvies on the jail communication tower. Dana joined me and as we were watching the two juvies, a 3rd falcon flew out from the center of the tower. Dana had thought there were three, but was not able to find the 3rd one until it flew out. We believe that it was Dot.ca who flew south, probably on a hunt. The two juvies took off soon after.
We spent some time looking for the falcons, but had no luck. The afternoon is usually their least active time.
I came back this evening for a rainy fledge watch. One juvie, I believe Tesh, was eating on the base of the Mercury statue and Beauty was on the OCSR, west end of the top Ibeam. I checked out the downtown area and was unable to find any other falcons. It started to rain harder, so I ended my watch a little after 8:00 pm.
I’ll leave you with some pictures I took during my watches over the last three days. Enjoy and goodnight!
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August 4th, 2014 at 4:06 PM
Cute little bird with the BIG bug! Thanks for the report..It is sad to get to the end of their training..Because our chances of seeing them again after they leave are so slim… I feel sad because the whole “family” breaks up ultimately. Silly of me I guess, because it is just their way. We need to feel proud if they fledge successfully and go on to reproduce.. Anyway thank YOU for what you do!
August 5th, 2014 at 7:46 AM
Not silly at all June! We all get sad when they leave us each year. I was visiting my dad when I spotted that sparrow with the cicada. It was already dead and the sparrow made short work of it. Pretty amazing to watch. 🙂