Lucky Noon Hour Watch

Well, where do I begin? Watchers during the noon hour included Jim P, Shaky, Dan S, Larry O, Kelly, Susan C and me. It was a little chilly, with the sun coming in and out from behind the clouds, but it felt very refreshing, almost fall-like.

For the noon hour we had Linn & Grace flying around the gorge, harassing gulls, a cormorant, ducks, etc (the usual suspects). Most of the time Linn and Grace spent their time on the small building on the island below the pedestrian bridge and the wire that crosses the river.
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Linn, Grace, and Ananta go, “Hmmph!”

I took a vacation day today, so Dana and I stopped out to the bridge this morning. We had all 4 juvies in the gorge. Here’s some pictures that I snapped.

Lou

What a great Fledge Watch today! Watchers included Shaky, Barb, Lynda (and her husband), Lisa McK, Larry O, Susan C and me. I passed Jim P on my way out. He had taken an early lunch.

I made my way out to the east end of the pedestrian bridge and was informed that 3 juvies were sitting on the shady tree along the east side of the gorge wall. When the breeze shifted the branches, you could easily see all three of them.
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Falcon fan Patrick Vitalone sent an email to let us know about some great flying that he witnessed high above the streets of downtown Rochester on July 10. We thought you’d like to read it too:

Jess,
I work in Xerox Square on the 24th Floor facing the HSBC building (I face East).

This morning, for the last half hour, we have been treated to a show with all 6 falcons flying between the Xerox Tower and the HSBC Tower. This has included some very close swing-bys at the windows– close enough to see the bands on the legs. All 4 fledges can be seen with both parents. We have seen some incredible loops and playing between them all. And the NOISE! The calls can be heard clearly as they sing back and forth….if only I had a camera!

You can tell that Mariah and Kaver are giving some lessons in diving and soaring as the activity is high and rapid. The funny thing is that during this time of the day we often see flocks of pigeons around HSBC…..not one can be seen this morning.

What a treat….and what great seats!

Just thought I would share this.

Regards,
Patrick Vitalone

It was a very warm day today, but that didn’t stop the Falcon Watchers from heading out to the pedestrian bridge overlooking the High Falls. At noon we spotted all four juvies and Kaver. During my 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. watch, Sacajawea was cruising around the gorge. I’ve put together a Kodak EasyShare Gallery Album which includes pictures from today’s watches.

Dana and I headed out to the bridge after a quick swing by Braddock Bay this morning. The day was overcast and, at one point, the watchers at the bridge had to sit out a good rainstorm. When the rain let up, a bunch of us went to the Dinosaur Barbecue for some lunch. We returned to the gorge after the rain had let up, but it was still a overcast. These are some pictues that I took today.

Lou

These are some pictures I took today. We stopped out early for a bit and returned later in the evening to greet some folks who came in from out of town. We were treated to some nice flying by all of the falcons and they were right at the Kokak tower area! Yay!

Lou

A Fantastic Morning for Breakfast

Mariah, Kaver and the juveniles put on the most spectacular aerial display that I’ve seen all year! The weather was perfect and there was a stiff breeze that the juvies seemed to love. Here is an album of some pics that I took this morning to give you a flavor of how dynamic is was. No photo titles in this album – I’ll add them later and for now, just let the pictures paint the story.

Lou

All four fleglings were sighted. At one point all four resting in the gorge, three on a wire leading to a small building near the river and the forth sitting on the bridge support. There were may aerial photo ops as they all flew in the and around the gorge. They are looking more and more like adults flying, catching thermals and soaring high in the air, diving at high speed, but when landing in the trees you can still see they still are learning.

When I arrived at about noon, I found a group of 10 or 12 watchers on the pedestrian bridge. They told me the falcons were on a downtown Rochester field trip again. From 12:00 until 12:50 we could catch glimpses of one, two or three juvies flying, drifting on the wind, and playing tag high in the sky over Lincoln Tower, Midtown, the Changing Scenes building and as far west as the communications tower.
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