By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a gray,rainy morning with high humidity which turned into a sunny afternoon and perfect weather for a fledge. The only thing that needs to be reported is that Master Genesee fledged at 12:30pm this afternoon. Unfortunately, I had a doctor appointment and left just 10 minutes before he took his first flight. No detailed report tonight as it is after midnite and I will be back out at 5:30am in the morning. I have photos from my morning and evening watch and a couple videos. I’m having trouble uploading a couple but if I can get them done tomorrow I will post then.

Watchers on duty for the morning watch-Dan,Mary,Larry,Carol,Patty,Joyce and myself

Those were from the morning and now from the evening fledge watch. Watchers for the afternoon/evening were-Carol,Joyce,Pat,Susan,Brian,Lee,Colleen, Larry,Lynda,Kathy,Deb and myself.

Genesee had a successful first flight which is cause for us all to smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view videos from the morning watch

http://youtu.be/KsedrwyV7ZQ

http://youtu.be/AL2-gPacR9o

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The air was thick with moisture this morning and the tops of the buildings encased with fog. Dark overcast skies and a temperature of 69(F)  21(C)

Dan was on the Broad St. bridge (BSB) as I arrived at 5:30am-the fog made for poor visibility of the nest box area from that distance so I went down to the hole. Beauty was on the Wilder green strip and Dot.ca (DC) flew in and landed a few feet from her. He didn’t stay long as he flew over to the deck with food where I imagine he got mobbed.

One of the kids went out on the wall after DC left as the other two ate the food that daddy delivered. After a bit I changed spots to where I could see Bronx sleeping near cam 4. Beauty preened a little and ended up with a facinator (feather stuck to her beak) then she too took a nap-that’s the kind of morning it was for our falcon family.

Around 6:30am 2 of the kids went out on the wall and before I knew it there was one on the nest box roof then over to cam 4 (Genesee).  Thanks to cam watchers Donna, Annette and Campgee who reported Cadence below Genesee on cam 4 and Bronx was the one on the wall bump. The Beautyful one had turned around to face me in the meantime.

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Larry joined Dan on the bridge and reported an adult on OCSR. Beauty left and ended up on Widows Walk south side railing. Around 7am DC showed up with food and dropped it off on the deck-Beauty flew over and met him there. DC lost a tug of war with the kids and left for OCSR top ibeam west corner.

Beauty remained on deck to supervise the children as reported by Ei- 2 of them ate breakfast again and the other one watched from the wall bump. She was forced to abandon ship and fly off as one of the kids crowded her on the corner. Beauty went to cam 1 and DC was on OCSR top ibeam west corner.

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Around 7:30am Donna reported that Beauty took over the feeding.

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Just before 8am Beauty flew to the base of Mercury then over to the main cam. I could see an eyas on the wall and one on cam 4.

Carol arrived around 8:30am -she was up on the BSB, I took a break and when I returned Beauty was on the ledge above the nest box and DC on OCSR top ibeam south corner. All the kids were mellow for a while.

Patty joined me in the hole at 10am and Dana soon after that pulled up. Beauty flew east making the kids come to life and start jabbering and flapping their wings.

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Carol reported seeing Beauty catch a pigeon over the river from the BSB. Genesee flew from cam 4 to the main cam and perched there looking quite pleased with himself. Cadence and Bronx were on the wall being cute.

Joyce joined the watch at 10;30am as Beauty alarm called and flew after a Turkey Vulture. Beauty went to the heel on Mercury and DC remained on OCSR until he spotted something on the back of Times Square. He streaked across with Beauty right after him and they started swooping down behind the building. Apparently they’re working on the elevator at Times Square.

We were surprised the kids didn’t run to the nest box but I guess they’re not scared little eyasses anymore.  Beauty went to the column above the nest box and DC went under the northeast wing after the crisis was over, The kids acted like nothing happened.

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I ended my watch leaving Joyce,Carol,Dana, Patty,Dan and Pat on duty at noon. Our young falcons will fledge soon and we will all be smiling to see them in their rightful place-the sky! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

http://youtu.be/fI4NNxwwUMo

http://youtu.be/kLw8L-THnUw

http://youtu.be/sN5-_etvzlg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

7:30 am – 7:45 pm

Temps in the 80’s with sunshine and rain storms throughout the day.  Lots of rain this afternoon!

Watchers during my watch: MAK, Larry O, Judy, Kathy O, Lisa McK, Pat, Linda (Braveheart), Joyce, Dana, Lou, Dan and Carol P..  Hope I didn’t forget anyone!

No fledge again today, but I think we’re getting really close.  All the rain may be slowing things down.

Highlights:

Both Genesee and Bronx were joined by their big sister Cadence on the wall.  She made it out to the north end AND she also made it to the top of the nest box!

Genesee easily jumped/flapped to the top of main camera a couple times today.  The first time he could not get his balance and slid down to the nest box platform.  The 2nd time, it took awhile, but he finally got his balance and stood up straight.  He spent a lot of time strongly flapping his wings while up there until he finally made his way back down to the nest box.  We were all very impressed.

Beauty and Dot.ca continue to hunt for their young and clear the airspace over and around the Times Square Bldg.  They want nothing to be nearby when their young eyases take their first flights.

The Rochester Watchers are a special group of people that will keep watch over them and do our utmost best to keep them safe.

Here are some pictures from my Sunday Fledge Watch.  Enjoy!

Be sure to click on any you would like to see larger and hover over them to see a description of the picture.

A special thanks to Kathy O for sitting with me in the pouring rain this afternoon.  After everyone left, we hunkered down under our BIG umbrellas for what seemed forever.  The eyases do love the rain and were out and about in it flapping and running. Just like any young children. lol  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another nice morning with partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 62(F) 17(C)

I joined Dan on the Broad St. bridge at 5:25am-Beauty was on the 2nd ibeam west corner of OCSR and Dot.ca (DC) on cam 1. The kids were eating on the deck as Dan told me a food delivery had been made just before I arrived. Bronx was the first to surface and join dad by perching on the wall bump.

Genesee (Gman) made his way out on the wall with his brother then back to the deck. DC was replaced by the Beautyful one on cam 1 just before 6am. One of them was flapping over by the boy cave and Gman made his way up on the nest box roof. He then made the hop/fly over to cam 4 and went back and forth a couple more times before getting down.

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Dan left at 6:30am so I went down to the hole to share space with our young falcons from a closer position. The boys were down at the north end of the wall, Cadence was by the main cam and Beauty on cam 1.

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Larry and Harold came just before 7am and a few minutes later Beauty flew northeast. She returned to cam 1 about 15 minutes later. DC  showed up on the top ibeam south corner of OCSR. Carol joined the watch around 7:30am.

It remained like this for the next hour or so and then Larry left, Beauty flew southeast and DC was gone as well. Annette reported an eyas on the nest box roof. A couple minutes later Beauty flew to the deck with food and DC went over to Widows Walk, landing on the north side railing.

DC left to perch on OCSR, Beauty also went to OCSR before flying to cam 1. DC flew over and fed the kids a tiny morsel on the deck. Beauty left cam 1 and returned to OCSR to land on the top ibeam west corner. Judy joined Carol and I. The boys started getting busy on the wall at this time.

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DC started speaking  from the top ibeam south corner of OCSR. Beauty gave a look that way and Genesee joined sis on deck while Bronx remained on the wall.

Kathy arrived around 8:45am while Bronx joined his siblings on deck for a short nap. A little after 9am Beauty flew to cam 4 to check on her babies then off to OCSR below DC who was on the top ibeam west corner. The boys got up and returned to the wall and about 9:30am DC came flying in landing on the northeast corner above the well. He was keeping an eye on his brave boys as he flew off to re-join Beauty on OCSR.

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Things were quiet for the next hour or so. Not sure what time Linda, Dana and Lou joined us but when I ended my watch at 11:30am the kids were starting to come alive. I believe we are going to have a fledge within the next 48 hours and then we’ll be very busy chasing them. Oh, and we’ll be smiling as we try to catch our breath! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

http://youtu.be/QX2WfjIk5h8

http://youtu.be/-BqAdm7vH_c

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

LET THE FLEDGE WATCH BEGIN!

Temperatures in the mid-70’s and sunny.  A perfect day!

There were a lot of falcon watchers out with me today.  I will make an attempt to name them all, but I apologize if I miss any.

Watchers:  MAK, Kathy O, Patricia Rose, Pat, Lisa McK, Brian H, Joyce and Carol P.

I started my watch just before 10 am and ended it at 7 pm.  A long, but fun day spent with our falcons and many of my friends.

Since my days will be long during the fledge watch, I won’t have a lot of time to leave reports, but will try my best to at least summarize what happened and post some pics.

There was a lot of activity at the nest box by the eyases.  Both boys, Genesee and Bronx, were out on the wall.  Later in the day, Cadence did visit the wall for a moment.  Both Beauty and Dot.ca were in hunt mode most of the day.  They were also busy keeping the air space clear for their young eyases first flights.

No fledges yet, but after I arrived home and was viewing the live streaming video, Genesee made it up to the top of Camera #4. Yesterday he was on top of the nest box.  He is getting very close to fledging.

Ok, now for some pictures from my fledge watch.  Enjoy and goodnight!  Tomorrow should be another exciting day!

You can click on any of them to see them larger and hover over them to get a description.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The morning started out totally overcast with a very light misty rain and a temperature of 60(F) 16(C). It turned out to be partly cloudy later on

So this was the first official fledge watch and since these watches are of long duration and with so many things to report, it is almost impossible to remember all the details. I will do my best and also there are lots of cam watchers that tweet out what they see to help us watchers on the ground-again, it can be difficult to remember so I will be giving a general thank you to all of you! Thank You!!

I arrived downtown and joined Dan on the Broad St. bridge (BSB). Dot.ca (DC) was on the 2nd ibeam south corner of OCSR. All 3 kids were up with one perched at the front of the nest box and the other 2 out on the deck. Beauty was on the Wilder green strip (WGS) snoozing.

It was very quiet for the first hour and a half with Genesee taking a walk on the wall and the rest of the family just relaxing.

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Dan left and soon after at around 7 am Beauty flew to the heel of Mercury-Genesee spoke to her from the end of the wall. And DC moved to the south corner of OCSR from the west corner top ibeam. The kids started stirring as Genesee got on the wall bump-almost like he was on his soap box as he showed them his stuff.

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Larry and Harold came by for a bit as DC disappeared and returned with food for the kids on the deck. Beauty spotted DC but remained on the base of Mercury to watch. DC fed a few bites and then they must have gotten too rough for him or one of them took the food from him-he ended up fleeing back over to OCSR.

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Just before 8am the Beautyful one joined the kids on deck then flew over to the base of Mercury.

Both adults disappeared while a couple of the kids ended up near cam 4 and the boy cave. Joyce reported Beauty was feeding on the deck. I left the hole and went up on the BSB to see if I could spot Beauty and as I got up there saw DC over on the top arm of the jail tower. A few minutes later Beauty was on the south corner napping and DC on the west corner top ibeam of OCSR. Two of the kids were now over  by cam 4 and the boy cave, the other out front by the main cam.

20 minutes later Beauty was on the base of Mercury eating with DC watching her from above on the money bag. Beauty flew off with leftovers and DC was right behind her.

Beauty showed up on the Mercury heel and DC went to the deck with food (probably Beautys’ leftovers) then Beauty went over and started feeding the kids and DC left for OCSR again landing on the top ibeam west corner. Meanwhile, Bronx made his wall debut. Genesee joined his brother after Bronx ran back and forth on the wall a couple times.

CarolP joined me at around 10am-I left to get coffee and while I was gone KathyO joined the watch. We set up our chairs on Aqueduct St. in the hole along the back of Thomson Reuters. New watcher Patty came along a while after that and we all watched as a Turkey Vulture(TV) got escorted out of the area by Beauty. Beauty and DC hung out on OCSR and the boys got off the wall and wnet to the nest box. DC and Beauty flew to the north wall of Times Square at opposite ends then DC took off and I decided to do the same.

Best pic of DC today

I left for home at noon after a delightful first fledge watch of almost 7 hours with lots of reasons to smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays fledge watch videos

http://youtu.be/6xClVruxvwg

http://youtu.be/DWVNmRDdRDo

http://youtu.be/KEXKBUWSwsQ

http://youtu.be/cl7–bl98vI

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

This morning was not quite as humid as yesterday but it was just as dark and overcast with a temperature of 66 (F) 19 (C) at the start

Please click on my pics to see the full version

I started my watch today at the City Hall parking lot after spotting a falcon on the top arm of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) from the Andrews St. bridge (ASB). It was Dot.Ca (DC) and he was looking for a meal-watching something down below him.  5 minutes later he was outta there as he flew east toward the river out of view.

I too went east hoping to find him or Beauty or maybe even a juvie. As I pulled over on Woodbury St. I spotted Beauty on the 5th column of the south side of Xerox-she flew off just as I stopped going around to the west side and out of sight. After a ride around downtown I ended back on the ASB where I spotted 2 falcons on FCT-both were on the platform railing opposite each other. Back to the City Hall parking lot where I identified DC as the one on the north side then down to Fitzhugh St. by the Sister Cities garage to ID the one on the south side as Beauty.

DC moved down  near the northeast cube then to a beam by the southeast cube. Beauty started to whine at him.

I moved down under the tower to see DC better but he was in where I could only see his tail feathers so I went back over by the garage to watch the Beautyful one.

Beauty was very relaxed as she preened-she would look back over her shoulder now and again to have a look at DC, then she’d give out a little whine and continue preening. She lost her footing once and righted herself by spreading out those id wings of hers.

They both seemed to be content and settled in for a while so I chose to end my watch at 8:30am and get on with my day. It so makes me smile to see our resident downtown Rochester Peregrine Falcon pair spending so much time together these days! 🙂

Click on the links below to check out the mornings videos
http://youtu.be/QGq29xNPLyU

http://youtu.be/TQp3sSP7ewU

http://youtu.be/9rqrNMMExNI

http://youtu.be/Ja9gI3KJzKE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was another dark, muggy morning with no sun and a starting temperature of 66 (F) 19 (C)

Click on my pics to view full version

I started my watch with Dot.Ca (DC)-he was on the top ibeam south corner of OCSR as I pulled over on the Broad St. bridge (BSB). I shot down to the hole for closer viewing.

I left the hole to park on Graves St. next to Aqueduct Park for a from below view of him. DC walked a few feet to the east and stretched his wing and tail feathers-it appears he may be molting.

I shared space with DC for about half hour then I took a ride on the east side-I hadn’t checked there yet. I went a different route than my usual to check Xerox and HSBC (I didn’t check the south sides) and found no falcons so I returned to the BSB to find DC gone. Back to the east doing my regular route and bingo, I found Beauty on the south side of Xerox on her old perching spot-the 5th column over from the southeast corner.

She didn’t stay put for long-about 5 minutes after I arrived on Chestnut St. the Beautyful one flew off going in and out of view near the southwest corner. I could hear DC chirping but didn’t see him so I drove to Court St. where I could see the west side. Beauty landed on the southwest corner momentarily then flew off to the north where DC joined her briefly near Bausch & Lomb (B&L). He disappeared behind Xerox and Beauty kept flying back and forth above and eventually landed on the roof apparatus that the juvies used to land on.

You can see that Beauty is still molting in that last pic. DC flew over Beauty and headed southwest toward the river and went into stoop formation as he passed above me. Half a minute later Beauty flew off to the northwest past B&L. I left to check around downtown and as I pulled in the parking lot of the Inn on Broadway I spotted Beauty on the RGS antenna. I drove over to East Ave. to spend some time with her.

I got a call from a friend who needed some help so I left my watch and thought I would return, but it took longer than I thought. I had to stop home (Seneca Towers) first and when I got there I spotted Veteran up on the northwest corner.

It was 8:15am and there was no sign of the female I saw yesterday. I ended my watch smiling for I had see our dynamic downtown duo and my own resident Peregrine Falcon! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos
http://youtu.be/kxa_Nz2IEsA

http://youtu.be/qmK1h1O06gA

http://youtu.be/3QtTScYq2DI

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a very dark,humid, overcast morning with a starting temperature of 62 (F) 17 (C)

Click on my pics to see the full version

My first falcon was Dot.Ca (DC) after checking downtown I made my way over to the east side and pulled over on Woodbury St. as I always do to check Xerox,HSBC and Bausch & Lomb. I managed to spot DC on the southeast corner in on the roof a bit and I could see that he was eating as he kept popping up so I could see him.

DC was silhouetted by the sun which was behind him so I drove over to Chestnut St. by Martin Luther King Jr. Park. It was there that I saw his bright white chest and the heart on his face that told me it was him.

It was soon after that he finished eating and flew out, touched one of the columns like he was going to land then changed his mind and flew around to the west side where I lost sight of him behind the building. That was the last I saw of him today. About 5 minutes later I spotted Beauty on the RGS antenna from the parking lot of the Inn on Broadway. I quick drove over to East Ave. for a closer look.

I spent the next 2 hours with the Beautyful one as she preened, stretched and rested. Most of the time resting! I kept hoping to see a juvie come flying in to knock her off but that didn’t happen. I do believe the kids are gone for good now-I haven’t seen one since Sunday. I thought Beauty would fly off a couple different times but then she settled back down and when she pooped and still didn’t go I decided I would.

I checked the Brighton Site (BS) since a banded female had been seen there 2 nights ago by Kathy. Joyce and Carol joined her using a scope and long lens camera, but they couldn’t get a positive ID. They thought perhaps it was Beauty as it was dark like her but it had white stripes above the cere which Beauty does not have. After checking all over downtown more than once I concluded my watch on the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge at High Falls. I found a Belted Kingfisher, 3 Cormorants and about a dozen Canada Geese on the north side-no falcons.

I ended my watch at 10:30am and headed home to Seneca Towers where I spotted a falcon on the south end of the building perched on a ledge above the top set of windows. It was dark like Beauty and at first it was sleeping so I didn’t see its legs or profile.

Finally after 10 minutes it woke up and turned its head-I knew immediately that this was not Beauty. The malar stripe was way too high to be Beauty. I got pics of both sides of her face and a front view awake and asleep.

Next I needed her to show me some bling-she cooperated by scratching her head with the left leg. She had a black over green leg band and I could see at least one 7 and possibly two. You might recall we had a female juvie by the name of Billie born to Gleig and Diamante (son of Mariah&Kaver) in May 2013 at Central Terminal in Buffalo hanging out along the Lake Ontario shoreline last year. She wore a black over green leg band #77 over AX. It’s a very good possibility that this is her.

There were a couple bees bothering her as I taped a video before quitting for the day. She seemed very relaxed and the fact that there was a lot of white wash (poop) on the building below her told me that she’s been perched there before or another falcon of course. Maybe Veteran has perched there as well-I do hope whoever she is she is bonding with him. He lost his mate Luzerne and I’ve so hoped that he would hook up with another one quickly.

Yep, you guessed it-this made me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos
http://youtu.be/Y2GqER-B-VM

http://youtu.be/dXpAPeeKwNQ

http://youtu.be/LvZ0Y2z6Afw

http://youtu.be/Ndhdx2gmj2E

http://youtu.be/wYnzFvPdRsg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another lovely morning for a watch with a starting temperature of 52 (F) 11 (C) and gorgeous sky from the sun rising

Remember to click on my pics to see the full version

I began my watch with Dot.Ca (DC) on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR-I went down to Graves St. by Aqueduct Park for a close view of him.

I stayed with DC about 10 minutes then set out to look for Beauty and the kids. I found the Beautyful one but no juvies again today. I spotted her on the RGS antenna from the Inn at Broadway parking lot. I took a couple pics then I drove to East Ave. for a closer look but she was gone.

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I found a pretty bench on East Ave. and DC on the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) top arm-with his white chest shining in the sun it was hard not to see him.

A couple minutes later DC flew down to the 2nd arm of FCT and started watching some little birds below him. He also did some primping and preening.

Around 7am DC started whining as he announced to me that Beauty had arrived. I looked up to see her on the same top arm he had been on. She too, did some whining of her own.

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Beauty stayed only 10 minutes or so then started to whine and flew off to the southwest in a big hurry. DC remained to do some stretching and scratching.

DebbieH came by around 7:45am on her way to work and while we were chatting DC flew off to the southeast. I drove around for the next hour and a half and wasn’t able to find another falcon. I ended my watch around 9:30am at the High Falls. Our downtown pair of Peregrine Falcons continue to make me smile as they are spending time together renewing  their bond to each other! 🙂

Click on the links below to see my videos from today

http://youtu.be/yzKYLydDIEs

http://youtu.be/zXwq1A-crZU

http://youtu.be/sL2UN65mq9c