By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning/Early Afternoon Watchers: Dana, Carol P, Kathy O, Shaky and Larry O.

Afternoon/Evening Watchers: Pat, Carla and Joyce.

Camera Crew/Monitors: Eileen, Shaky and Annette.

Walker, our last eyas, fledged early this morning! Dana and I had arrived just in time to see his first flight.

Walker’s Fledge Flight. He did great! He took off from the north end of the nest box wall. Swung around to the south and back towards the TSB. He made it to about 1/2 way up the face of the bldg under the NE wing ledge. At first I thought he might cling to the small ledge there, but he couldn’t quite hang on. He slid very gracefully down to the parapet level & out of sight. Soon he showed himself & received a meal from Nova. Meng then joined him for an afternoon nap. That’s where he remained until we ended our watch at 1:00 pm.

There was a lot of really good flying by Mighty and Justice. Meng mostly stayed by Walkers side. Lots of talon tagging between Mighty, Justice and the 2 adults. Justice just loves chasing Nova all over! This is such a close group!

The afternoon/evening watchers have been reporting flying by Mighty, Justice and Meng, including talon tagging! Walker has moved down one level on the Times Square Bldg. He is now on the level above the nest box and he’s been seen playing on what we call the jungle gym on the back of the TSB.

I’m really happy that they have all fledged now. Now the watchers will keep an eye on them as they strengthen their flight skills!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning/early afternoon Watchers: Kathy O, Carol P, Dana, Larry O and Shaky

Afternoon/Evening Watchers: Carrie, Joyce, Lisa McK, Carla P and Larry O.

Camera Watchers & Monitors: Ei, Shaky and Annette

The 3 juvies have been flying a lot and very well. This morning we saw Mighty chase Neander from the Times Square Bldg to OCSR and back. She ended up landing on the NE corner of the Wilder Bldg. She had food, so we were pretty sure she received a food transfer from Neander.

At one point, Justice took off heading north, fast. I was very impressed by this flight. He ended up landing on top of the Cross Rds Bldg.

Meng is getting stronger, making multiple flights and joining Walker on the wall. She and Mighty spent time with him during the day.

Walker continues to do a lot of wingercising. I really thought he was going to take off many times. Take your time Walker.

The evening crew reported seeing some beautiful flying by our juvies, but still no fledge by Walker.

At 8:47 pm, Walker is in the boy cave, left side of the nest box, and Mighty is on the corner of the nest box platform.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning/Early Afternoon Watchers: Dana, Larry O, Kathy O, Carol P and Shaky.

Afternoon/Evening Watchers: Brian, Carrie, Pat, Joyce, Carla P & Jeanne.

Camera Operators and Watchers: Shaky, Eileen & Annette.

I arrived downtown at 6:30 am. Dana was already there, so she pointed out where each of the 3 fledged juvies were. Walker has still not fledged as of 5:00 pm.

Soon after I arrived, the juvies started flying all over the area. If you follow the watchers tweets, you know all the details of the excitement we had this morning. Meng is doing great. She made multiple long flights and nailed her landings. Mighty and Justice took turns returning to the nest box to spend time with Walker.

Nova and Neander are keeping a close eye on all of their young, keeping the skies above the TSB clear. That is until a very large blimp from Dick’s Sporting Goods came through multiple times, way too close as far as I was concerned. After passing by three times, they left the area. Surprisingly Nova never alarm kakked when it flew through. But, she sure did when someone was up on the roof of the Telesca Bldg.

It seems pretty quiet on the Afternoon/Evening Watch. If anything exciting is reported, I’ll add it later.

After 2 days of cold rain and wind, today was a joy, with temps into the 70s, blue sky and sunshine. A lovely day!

Update: Flying by the 3 juvies and Nova and Neander. At 8:29 pm, Walker has settled by himself in the boy cave, left of the nest box. Will one of the juvies join him?

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

And then there was one. One unfledged eyas, Walker!

It was a double fledge afternoon here in Rochester, NY.

After spending nearly 7 hours sitting in a cold rain, with no fledges this morning/early afternoon, I had to leave. Soon after I left, both Justice and Mighty fledged pretty close together.

Morning/Early Afternoon Watchers: Dana, Carol P, Kathy O, Larry O.

Afternoon/Evening Watchers: Kathy O, Pat, Joyce, Carrie, Carla P, Lisa & Larry O.

On Cameras: Shaky, Ei and Annette.

Justice fledged first. He flew around to the south side of the Times Square Bldg (TSB) out of view. Later he walked/hopped back to the south ledge where we could see him.

Mighty flew, soon after, flew down to the pillars on the east side of the Times Square Bldg and then to the Wilder Chimney.

Both have been back to the nest box to visit with Walker and have made multiple trips to the Wilder Chimney.

You ask, how about Meng? Well, she remains on the parapet above the nest box where she fledged to yesterday. We witnessed her receiving food from both parents this morning. She’s fine, doing lots of wingercising. I’m sure she’ll take more flights soon.

Walker is younger, so he’ll probably wait a little longer to fledge.

These are exciting and nervous times for the Rochester Falcon Watchers. If you’re walking around the Times Square Bldg and you see someone with a camera and binoculars, stop by and say hello. We’ll be happy to point out the locations of the Rochester Falcons.

Also, a big welcome to our new neighbors at Constellation Brand who just moved into their new location on Aqueduct St. We’ve met quite a few of you!

Update: 8:30 pm. Watcher and Mighty have settled down in the boy cave (left side of the nest box). Meng finally flew again. She ended up in the center section between the parapets one the east side of the TSB. Justice by light on NW wing ledge.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Morning/Early Afternoon Watchers: Dana, Larry, Kathy O and Carol P

The weather left much to be desired. Cold, cloudy and misty rain most of the morning. You almost needed a winter jacket!

For whatever reason, Nova and Neander seemed to not want the eyases to fledge today. It was mostly quiet, quieter than yesterday. The eyases continue to wingercise and strengthen their wings. Nova and Neander brought in more food than yesterday.

The highlight of our watch was seeing Walker finally make his way to the wall. He continued out along the wall until he found the food left there from an earlier feeding. Go Walker!

Afternoon/Evening Watchers: Pat, Brian, Carrie, Joyce, Carla P and Lisa.

Lots of flying by Nova and Neander. Chased out a Turkey Vulture from the territory.

Highlight of evening watch as of 6:30 pm. Justice made it to the top of Cam 4!

No fledges yet.

Eileen notified us that Mighty has lost her red tape. Thankfully, she is larger and darker than Justice, so we should be able to ID them.

Meng fledged this evening! She flew out and back towards the Times Square Bldg escorted by an adult. Watcher Joyce reported seeing her land on the TSB above the nest box. Hopefully Justice, Mighty and Walker will settle down for the evening. The morning fledge watchers will look for Meng tomorrow morning. Be safe Meng!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

This is the 2nd day of our fledge watch for the Rochester eyases.

Day 1 of the fledge watch passed quickly. I won’t say it was uneventful, since there was a lot of flapping by all 4 eyases. Justice, Meng and Mighty ran the wall while Walker looked on. Yesterday’s fledge watchers were Larry O, Carol P and Dana (morning); Lisa, Brian and Joyce (afternoon/evening).

Day 2 had much more activity. Nova and Neander brought leftovers in multiple times. Neander tended to let the eyases grab it from him, but Nova would stay for a moment, then take off with the food. The eyases would scream for her to bring it back. Sometimes she would, sometimes she wouldn’t. All training to entice them to take their first flights.

Some Turkey Vultures would wander too close and Nova and Neander would vocalize loudly, alarm kakking! If that didn’t scare them off, the adult falcons would take flight and chase the TVs out of their territory, keeping the skies above and around the Times Square Bldg clear for their eyases first flights.

All 4 eyases continue to wingercise, strengthening their flight muscles. They are amazing to watch. Again Justice, Meng and Mighty ran up and down the wall. Walker has yet to go there, but we have to remember he is much younger than the others.

Today’s morning fledge watchers were Kathy O, Dana, Larry O, Linda and Carol P. We left after 1:00 pm, when it was quiet.

Late this afternoon, Lisa, Joyce and Carrie are the fledge watchers. They started their watch in the rain. It’s now stopped raining and the eyases are flapping. Justice and Meng on the wall and Mighty & Walker closer to the nest box. As of 4:50 pm. Still very cloudy and more rain expected. This may keep them from fledging tonight, but you never know!

The fledge watch continues!

Right now, I’m too busy to share any of my pictures, but I’ll try to continue to post updates. Busy times!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Well, what can I say? This year got away from me totally! As you have probably heard, downtown Rochester is a wreck! There are very few options on where to sit and watch or park the Rochester Falcons and certainly nowhere quiet. A few of us even got parking tickets! That was a first for me. Here’s a couple shots to show you a bit of what we have been dealing with.

Enough complaining, it is what it is. Another strange thing that happened this year is that no watcher’s actually witnessed any of our young falcons fledging. It all happened while we were not there. From Jubilee’s accidental fledge after being pushed off the wall by sister Artemis, then Artemis soon taking off after that, to Sterling waiting until later that day. Thankfully all three fledged safely to nearby buildings.

I do apologize for not leaving any watch reports this year, but things have been a little hectic. I and other watchers have been downtown to keep an eye on the young juvies as much as possible. Weekends are the best, since it’s easier to move around.

Sterling, Artemis and Jubilee have been seen hanging out together and training, under the watchful eye of Nova and Neander, to become successful Peregrine Falcons.

I’ve finally had a chance to download my picutres. There are quite a few favorites that I’d like to share. Hope you enjoy!

BE SURE TO CLICK ON EACH PICTURE TO SEE THE LARGER VERSION

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Watchers (during my watch): Dana, Larry O and Carol P.

7:00 – 10:00 am

Another hot, humid and steamy day. Again the temps are going up to 90 today. This is getting old. The good thing is it’s supposed to cool down soon, with much needed rain on the way.

It took me awhile to find the falcons this morning. The first falcon I found was Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT). It didn’t take long for Golden to find Beauty’s hiding spot. He flew in and knocked her off. Both flew over me heading south. Soon after they left, Dot.ca flew out from inside the Frontier Communication Tower framework. He flew up to the white disk. I have to assume there was food up there.

I next found both Golden and Beauty on the Widows Walk (WW). For the majority of my watch, Golden remained there until he finally left, flying back towards the FCT. He ended up on the shorter of the two communication towers, where he moved in out of sight, probably for a nap.

No Freyja sighting today. We’ll keep looking.

We ended our watch at that time and made a quick visit at Seneca Towers, where Dana and I found Beau and one juvie in view.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from today’s watch. Lots of Golden Wings! Enjoy and stay cool!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Watchers (during my watch): Larry O and Carol P.

6:30 to 9:00 am

Hot, hot, hot! Another scorcher with temps up into the 90’s expected today. I decided to stay in the hole (aka Aqueduct St) where there was a lot of shade and a nice breeze. At least it was bearable there.

Thankfully, just after I parked my car, Golden showed up carrying food. He landed on the Wilder Bldg and made his way down to the SW corner. He played with his food for awhile, then cached it near the SW corner. He is such a busy young falcon. lol

Golden made his way back to the ladder and then took off, flying gracefully above me. I felt honored to be there to see just how well he is doing. He headed back towards the Times Square Bldg, where Dot.ca was prepping or eating food on the SE corner nook. This is a spot the adults will cache food.

Golden continued towards downtown where I lost sight of him as he flew directly into the sun over the Hyatt. He next showed up flying high above the Xerox Bldg.

Dot.ca finished with what he was doing and took off, clutching a small “package” of food. DC flew over me, heading east over the river. Not quite sure where he was taking this bit of food?

Beauty had spent most of the morning at the Powers nest box. Larry O joined me for a short while before heading out.

While he was there, a juvie (assumed to be Golden) came in vocalizing. He landed on the NE wing ledge and walked in out of sight. Probably for a nap. Beauty flew over from Powers, landing on the TSB nest box platform. After a few minutes, she walked in to enter the nest box.

I’m just going to say, that I have not given up on Freyja. I won’t for a long time. We have had miracles happen in past years when juvies had disappeared for awhile. I’m still hoping she’ll show up some day. 🙂

The heat was rising and all was quiet, so I ended my downtown watch. On the way home, I stopped to check out the ST juvies. I was just in time to see two juvies flying together over the river. One had a scrap of food and the other one wanted it. The chase was on. The 3rd juvie was eating. So happy to see Billie and Beau’s three juvies doing well.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from today’s watch. Enjoy and keep cool!

Now for the 2nd Part of my morning watch. At ST I found all three of Billie and Beau’s young ones. Two were flying high, chasing each other. One eating breakfast. I just love knowing that these juvies are Mariah & Kaver’s great grand kids!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Watchers (during my watch): Dana, Linda, Lisa, Larry O and Carol P. Bonus drive-by by Dan. 🙂

7:00 am to 10:00 am.

The heat and humidity is rising here in Rochester, NY today. It was almost 80 degrees (F) when I started driving around downtown at 7:00 am. My phone says it is 90 degrees as I type this at 1:35 pm. Temps are expected to go up well into the 90’s. I joined Dana on the Court St Bridge just in time to see some fantastic flying by Golden and Dot.ca. They were all over between the Times Square Bldg and Xerox. Golden is doing extremely well with Dot.ca as his teacher.

At one point, both Beauty and Dot.ca attempted a bowing session at the Powers nest box, but alas, Golden had other plans. As soon as his parents went into the nest box, Golden landed on the corner screaming. Dot.ca immediately flew out of the nest box and up to the NE wing ledge on the Times Square Bldg. Beauty will not be bullied by her little boy. She remained at the Powers Bldg with Golden.

After awhile, Dot.ca flew out to the Xerox Bldg and Beauty flew over to the Times Square Bldg and went into the nest box there for some shade. Golden went into the Powers nest box and then up to the roof where he was able to get some shade.

This is where they all were when the watch was ended at 10:00 pm. The heat was rising quickly and we all decided it was time to go.

No Freyja sightings this morning. We’ll keep looking for her.

I stopped at ST for a quick look on the way home. Pretty sure it was Beau that I saw attempting to hide from his and Billie’s three young ones (verified by Dana). Two of the three juvies were tearing up the sky above, screaming and talon tagging.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my watch. Enjoy and keep cool!

Some pictures from the RFalconcam Cameras.