By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

For the most part it was mostly cloudy but the sun did make an appearance briefly-the starting temperature was 52 (F) 11 (C)

Click on my pics to see the full version

As I pulled on to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) I spotted Beauty on the Times Square building (TSB) under the northeast wing. She had her back to me so I parked over in front of the Blue Cross Arena (BCA) on Exchange Blvd. She tried to bring up a pellet and was watching everything around her-she flew off 10 minutes later heading southeast.

The Women of Faith convention was at the BCA making for a busy time near the BSB so I decided to go up on the South Ave. garage roof where I would have a birds eye view of downtown. Right away I spotted Tesh eating and pulling feathers from prey on the railing below the Mercury statue.

Carol had been on the pedestrian bridge at High Falls and was now on the BSB watching Tesh as well. I noticed 4 guys on the Wilder roof and Carol saw Dot.Ca (DC) fly in and land on the top ibeam south corner of OCSR. As I was taping down in the river I spotted a Black-crowned Night Heron.

Tesh continued picking at her prize oblivious to everything going on around her. When she had her fill she flew off and up to the base of Mercury with the leftovers then she headed north over the river.

Carol left to return to the gorge and I came down from the garage and went to the hole to hang out with DC for a few minutes.

While I was there the guys on the Wilder roof were shoveling stones into a hose that took them down to a lower roof. I thought maybe DC was keeping an eye on them.

Carol tweeted that Tesh was in the Falcon sucking tree (FST) so I headed over to the High Falls. When I got there Carol was on the observation deck with a heavy mist coming down from the falls-I opted for keeping my camera dry so I didn’t join her.

Suddenly Tesh flew off crossing the river and turning around when she reached the west side of the gorge and returned to the FST. A couple minutes later Carol tweeted that a Red-tail Hawk was on the the west side gorge wall so we believe that’s why Tesh went over there.

In between catching some shut eye Tesh was keeping track of that hawk. Dana joined me and Carol came over from the observation deck.

Dan came by a little bit after that just in time to see Tesh fly out the tree toward us on the bridge and at the last second veer up and over the railing not too far away from us. This big juvie girl then circled back and we could see that there was another hawk she was escorting over to the Genesee Brewery where it landed.  Tesh turned around and flew directly over us very close-so cool, and continued up river disappearing behind OCSR.

Dana then spotted another Red-tail over on a building near BB station-this one was a youngster.

I was ready to head out with a smile after the send off Tesh had given me, thus ending my watch at 10am. 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos
http://youtu.be/AtMN_GCLY2E

http://youtu.be/qWUY69OD-us

http://youtu.be/v7Rg43_3V6k

http://youtu.be/k6QE3099zAU

http://youtu.be/X4Na3LiSrJU

http://youtu.be/z6yp4D2sB9U

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The morning was mostly dark and overcast with a temperature of 54 (F) 12 (C) but the sun did peek thru the clouds for a brief time

I drove around a bit before finding a falcon-as I checked from the Strong Museum of Play parking lot, I spotted a juvie who I identified as Nor’Easter on the southwest corner of HSBC railing. I drove to Chestnut St. to observe him at a closer distance.

He flew off less than 5 minutes later heading north-I followed and then I spotted him chasing a crow near Court St. so I doubled back and found him on Bausch & Lomb. He took off from there almost immediately after I saw him then I found him on the east side of HSBC eating a small tidbit of something.

Nor’Easter kept me busy following him this morning-he flew around to the south side of Xerox a couple minutes later and then I spotted Dot.Ca (DC) by accident on the 4th column east side of Xerox and Nor’Easter was right around the corner on the south side roof whining.

DC flew north and when he reached the Chase building he threw on the heat and went into a stoop to the north side of the building out of sight. 20 minutes later Nor’E flew around to the southwest corner long enough to touch down then off to the west side of Xerox.

He went from there to the southeast corner of Xerox and back to the southwest corner finding little bits of food as he went. Nor’E was playing with me.

I lost sight of him, and got a tweet from Pat that Beauty was eating under the northeast wing of the Times Square building (TSB) so I left for the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) to see the Beautyful one. She had feathers stuck all over her face.

Beauty flew off leaving her food behind crossing the river and seemed to be scouting above Xerox. After a few circles she flew to the deck near the nest box-DC was also there and he left quickly flying up to the northeast wing and began eating her leftovers.

I started taping DC eating and suddenly he flew off disappearing to the southwest. Beauty seemed planted so I went for coffee-when I came out I spotted Beauty flying near the Wilder building. I found her on the top ibeam south corner of OCSR next. Within a couple minutes I heard the whining of a juvie-Nor’Easter flew past his mom and ended up under the southwest wing of TSB.

He spotted something down below and flew off really fast going toward the river-I could barely turn quick enough to keep up with him before he vanished. FYI-his red tape is still hanging.

I went up to the middle of the BSB and located Nor’E on the northeast corner of the railing below Mercury. He was in hunt mode as he stooped straight down the east side of the Thomson Reuters building after a small bird. He missed it just before reaching the river, swooped back up and started chasing anything that was flying over the river between the BSB and Main St. bridge. It was fantastic to see him whipping back and forth above the water as I was able to get a couple flight shots. He is really fast!

Nor’E gave it his best shot and then flew north behind OCSR. I looked up and noticed Beauty was gone but DC was on the 2nd ibeam near the south corner.

I left DC to look for Nor’Easter but never found him again-I didn’t find any of his siblings either. On the Andrews St. Bridge as my last stop I spotted Beauty on the Frontier Communications Tower.

I drove over to Church St. to find her sleeping on a beam in between the platform and southeast cube. I took a couple pics of her then ended my watch at 10am.

I soo left smiling after an action packed morning spent with a juvie Peregrine Falcon named Nor’Easter! 🙂

Check out todays videos by clicking on the links below

http://youtu.be/oXbbNfPesi0

http://youtu.be/Ch46qlpWjjw

http://youtu.be/E7-A9Yovq14

http://youtu.be/KjdLUC7zlXw

http://youtu.be/oyzovefZiCk

http://youtu.be/DCXYROuixJg

http://youtu.be/dVh7uFLyPPY

http://youtu.be/hYG0KtG9KaQ

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was about 10 degrees cooler this morning than yesterday as I stepped out  with a temperature of 55 (F) 13 (C) and a bit of a breeze. The sunrise was peeking thru the clouds

Please click on my pics to see full version

Today I started my watch without having to search first as I pulled over on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) I could see the white on Dot.Ca (DC) perched on the 2nd ibeam of OCSR near the south corner. I drove down to the hole for a closer look.

25 minutes later DC flew southwest. After checking the east side of the city I returned to find DC on the south corner top ibeam this time. He only stayed long enough for me to see him fly off again after I heard a juvie in the area.

I went back up to the BSB where I could see 2 falcons on the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT)-1 on the top arm and 1 on the 2nd arm. I got all excited thinking one might be the juvie I had heard. I hadn’t seen a juvie in 4 long days!

I quick drove over to City Hall and was able to ID the falcon on the 2nd arm as Mr. Nor’Easter-a juvie finally!!!!! He was staring straight up at dad on the top arm and he had lots to say to him.

After a few minutes they both flew southeast-Nor’E returned landing on the top arm DC had just vacated only briefly before he was off to the southeast again.

5 minutes later it got real noisy as Nor’Easter came flying in with Tesh and DC. Dad went to the top arm again and our 2 blue footed kids chased each other. Tesh landed on the east side platform railing and Nor’E flew over to knock her off and then they flew west. They didn’t stay long but I was happy to have seen them just the same.

I hung out with DC hoping the juvies would return but they didn’t-he flew off  around 8:10am when I wasn’t looking.

I went over to the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) to have a look and 5 minutes later I spotted a falcon on the Kodak Office Cupola. I thought it must be DC as he likes perching on it. My cameras small LCD screen couldn’t help me ID either as it was showing its back and part of its side.

I then drove to State St. for a closer view and after seeing my pics on the computer screen I can confirm that it was a juvie on the cupola-most likely Nor’Easter.

He flew off to the north out of sight and that was the end of it. I went back to the ASB but all I saw were 2-4 workers on the church roof next to the FCT. A crane was bringing supplies up to them and I figured this would keep our falcons away from the tower. I drove around some more but never saw another falcon. I ended my watch at 9:30am with a big old smile on my face for having seen half of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

P.S. I saw Veteran fly past my window while writing this report-he was flapping fast as he flew from the south heading north over the Veterans Bridge from which he got his name

Click on the links below to view todays videos
http://youtu.be/KlqU7-XGWpY

http://youtu.be/Hp5Qg1RSmNQ

http://youtu.be/OjKScAeEIZo

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I got a late start on my watch today.  There were dark clouds heading towards downtown Rochester with some thunder and lightning too.  So I stayed home until it passed.  When I arrived downtown at 6:00 pm, the roads around Kodak Office were filled with Red Wing fans on their way to tonight’s game.  I made my rounds, but didn’t find a falcon until close to 6:30 pm.  Finally a falcon and it was Beauty preening on the Widows Walk which is next to the Times Square Bldg where the nest box is located.

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I kept hearing a juvie’s cry from overhead, and Beauty kept looking straight up, but I could not see the juvie.  Larry O arrived just before Beauty stooped off of the Widows Walk and over the Civic Center Parking Garage (6:50 pm)

After driving around a bit, I found Beauty on the 3rd arm down on the jail communication tower.  She was hunched over, checking out the birds flying below her, definitely in hunt mode.  Larry reported that there was a falcon on the southeast corner of the Kodak Tower.  I could see that bird and Beauty from where I was parked.  Beauty took off heading south over Cornhill, so I drove over to Kodak to get a closer look at the falcon there.  It was facing the building, but I am pretty sure that it was Dot.ca.

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While I was at Kodak, Larry tweeted at 7:05 pm that there was a falcon flying over the B&L building attempting to land on the spire, which is a very long point on top of the building.  Dot.ca took off at 7:10 pm and headed south towards downtown.  So did I.

I arrived on the Broad St Bridge, just in time to see two juvies flying over the river towards the Andrews St apartments.  I called to Larry who was at the east end of the bridge with his dog Harold and pointed to the two falcons.  We watched the two juvies, a male and female (definite size difference) talon tag and chase each other, mostly above the Xerox Tower and B&L.  They were tearing up the sky or as my friend Brian H says, they were sky dancing.  🙂

I had time to download one of my videos to YouTube from this evening, showing the two juvies flying high.  Just click on the following link.  Enjoy!

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http://youtu.be/7qqAAUtLLRQ

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Be sure to click on the pictures to see the full version.

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While the juvies were flying above Xerox, Dot.ca came in carrying food from the east.  He flew over us and landed on the top IBeam of the OCSR.  (7:28 pm) The juvies never stopped flying while Dot.ca prepped the pray.

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The young falcons are like most young children, tireless.  Every now and then one would land, but was soon back to flying.  The female kept up with her brother, who was more agile.  It was a joy to see this again before they left for good.

At 7:34 pm, Dot.ca took off with the prey and headed towards Xerox, where one of the juvies flew up to him and went talons up to grab the offered meal.  It was a successful food exchange.  We believe that the male got the food and that he landed on top of Xerox with it.  The female flew with Dot.ca for awhile before they both went behind the OCSR heading west.  I went looking for them, but did not find them.

Larry had to leave, so I drove around one last time and found a falcon eating on the west side of B&L.  It was too dark for me to be able to tell if it was an adult or juvie.  After finishing the meal, this falcon took off and flew around and over the Xerox Tower before stooping down towards the river heading west towards Cornhill.

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I ended my watch at 8:20 pm.  It was so good to see these juvies.  It has been awhile since we saw one of the females.  Wish we could have ID’d them.  I truly hope they are here tomorrow, so other watchers will be able to see them.  I’ll leave you with some pictures from my evening watch.  Lots of dark clouds, wind and a bit of rain.  Goodnight everyone!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A nice morning, weather wise, with a starting temperature of 66 (F) 19 (C) and sunshine

Make sure to click on my pics to see the full version

Well, it happened-I got skunked on my over 3 hour watch this morning. Not one falcon could I find but I saw other nature including a Great Blue Heron to start off the north side of the Broad St. bridge.

Next up-my favorite of the watch, a mama duck and 6 ducklings swimming below the Court St. Bridge.

We’re fortunate here in Rochester to have many bridges with many different views of wildlife and water. Who doesn’t like to look at a waterfall no matter what size!?

When there’s no falcons to watch you look for anything to entertain you and pigeons with their bobbing heads and chasing ways fit the bill.

On my 2nd or third (definitely my last) visit to the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge at High Falls I spotted a Red-tail Hawk with its back to me on a spire while exiting the parking lot at the Genesee Brewery.

Suddenly a crow came along and started swooping on the hawk who was minding his own business-kinda like when falcons go after crows just because they can.

The hawk didn’t seem too bothered and the crow lost interest and moved on flying out over the river out of view. The red-tail started preening while holding on with just one foot on a very small perch. Amazing!  Oh, and it also pooped for me! lol

That’s all she wrote folks! I ended my nature watch around 9:30am smiling, for even though I saw no falcons there was still Mother Nature providing me with her beauty. 🙂

Click on the links below to see todays assortment of videos

http://youtu.be/nIJu7fpdo8E

http://youtu.be/bu1b8bbFoIk

http://youtu.be/p58v3nyRGtE

http://youtu.be/hMDwQcijzVg

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Rain was in the air today, but I had a little bit of time before the next wave hit.  I took advantage of it.  When I arrived downtown at 3:50 pm, I spotted a falcon on the Frontier Communication Tower on the northeast box.  It was Beauty.

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I left Beauty to check on the rest of the downtown area.  When I couldn’t find any falcons, I decided to go out onto the pedestrian bridge.  From there I could see that Dot.ca had joined Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower.  He was on the 2nd arm and there was a Robin that kept flying at him and landing nearby. (4:30 pm)

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There were only a few people on the pedestrian bridge.  Dark clouds were moving in from the west.  It was going to rain again.  At 4:55 pm, both Beauty and Dot.ca were gone from their spots.  Now there was one falcon eating the the FCT platform and one on the southeast corner of the platform railing.  Based on size, I believe that it was Dot.ca on the railing and Beauty eating on the platform while he watched.

It was time to move again.  This time I parked on the Andrews St Bridge.  Dot.ca was still on the railing, but he had moved over, closer to where Beauty was eating.  Dot.ca took off at 5:20 pm, heading north towards Kodak Office.  He turned towards the east, flying fast over the river and brewery.  I kept watching him, hoping to see what had his attention, but the buildings got in the way.  I waited, hoping he would return.  He wasn’t gone long.

Ten minutes later he flew back in from the east, and he wasn’t alone!  I heard the wonderful vocalization of a juvie falcon as they both flew up to the OCSR.  There was a little bit of talon tagging and the juvie and Dot.ca flew around the building.  The juvie came back around and flew towards the Frontier Communication Tower, landing on the north side below the platform.  Dot.ca did not follow, but I did!  The juvie was moving around inside the metal framework of the tower, ending up on the southeast box.  I found a spot to park and took a few pics.  The lighting wasn’t great for taking pictures, but I do believe it was Mercury, who had been here all weekend with his brother Nor’easter.

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Mercury was hyper alert and watching everything that moved around him, including the many small birds flying by.  He took off, heading south, over City Place and back around the other side.   Mercury ended up landing on the lower roof line on the north side of City Place, probably on the lookout for any cached food.  I was able to get a few pictures before he again took off, this time heading east.  I headed in that direction and drove all over downtown, but was unable to find him again.

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He didn’t stay long, but I was very happy to see that he was still in the area.  You can bet the Watchers will continue to be on the lookout for glimpses of our four young falcons.

Kathy O tweeted that she had also drove around looking for Mercury, but was unable to find him.  We were only able to find one falcon and that was an adult on the Kodak Tower facing in.

Both Brian H and Jeanne texted a warning that thunderstorms were heading into Rochester soon, so Kathy and I decided to call it a watch at 7:55 pm.  As I was driving out of the city, the rain arrived.  Tomorrow will hopefully be a nicer day.

Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a gloomy watch with rain at the start and at the end with starting temperature of 67 (F) 19 (C)

Well folks, this was the 2nd day in a row with no juvie sightings-they weren’t seen by the night crew last night either.  It’s time to face the possibility that they may have gone to start the next part of their life experience. They have been a fun bunch to watch and with any luck there will be a little more, but at this point I’m not counting on it.

Todays watch was all Beauty as I found her on the Mercury money bag. She allowed me to share space with her for approximately 5 minutes before flying off chasing pigeons across the river and over the Rochester Convention Center out of sight to the northeast.

20 minutes later at 6:55am as I made my way back to the Broad St. Bridge I spotted a falcon hovering above Xerox. At first I got excited thinking it was a juvie but by the style of flight  it was showing and the ragged looking wing feathers I believe it was the Beautyful one. She was gone within less than a minute.

I wouldn’t see her or any other falcon again until around 9:30am as I pulled over on the Andrews St. Bridge for the 3rd or 4th time. She was on the top ibeam northwest side of OCSR catching some shut eye as it began to rain.

I had to leave her for an appointment but I didn’t go without a smile because any time spent with Beauty makes me happy! 🙂

Click on the pics below to view just 2 short videos from todays watch

http://youtu.be/nVdjSfK2yLI

http://youtu.be/qHUj4XjIXJ8

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The starting temperature this morning was 60 (F) 16 (C) with hazy sunshine

Please click on my pics to see the full version

I found Beauty on the northeast corner of HSBC to start my watch-she didn’t stay long (2 minutes to be exact) before flying northeast out of view.

20 minutes later while parked on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) I spotted a falcon on the top arm of the jail tower with its back to me. I took a pic and left for Troup St. where I could get a front view-it was Beauty. Again, she didn’t stay long and flew off just before the 7 o’clock hour to the southwest over Cornhill.

I looked but never found the Beautyful one. After checking around downtown I stopped on the Court St. bridge around 7:30am to check out the river. I’m glad I did for I spotted not one but two Black-crowned Night Herons hunting under the BSB. One of them caught what looked like a crayfish/crawfish and was trying to soften it up to swallow it down when the other heron rushed it. Obviously, it wanted to steal the prize but failed as the other guy flew off with it. I shot a video of it all taking place.

Both herons flew down river out of view so I drove over to the BSB where I found one of them hunting near the RG&E sub-station.

Now it was time to look for falcons from the Andrews St. Bridge-bingo, I spotted one on the 3rd ibeam northwest side. I went down to State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel to observe Dot.Ca (DC) with fresh prey.

He flew off with it after a couple minutes and took it to the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT). I literally chased after him in my car, and it was a good thing because where he landed with it I might not have found him so easily as if I hadn’t watched him land from Church and Fitzhugh St. DC was on the beam that supports the northeast and southeast cubes behind the large disk.

DC had a little nibble of his catch but I really think he took it there thinking a juvie would show up to eat for he left with it after 5 minutes or so. He flew southeast out of sight and I wasn’t able to locate him again. I ended up on the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge where all I found was a Great Blue Heron down in the river on the north side preening.

I left there to take one more trip around the city-I found Beauty tucked in a northeast corner of FCT. She was trying to nap while a robin was yapping at her.

I never found any juvies and ended my watch at about 10am. I sure would like to see the girls as they haven’t been seen in quite a few days. Perhaps they’ll show themselves tomorrow. As I approached Seneca Towers (home) I spotted Veteran on the west corner of the railing on top of the roof.

Seeing 3 adult Peregrine Falcons is enough to make me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos
http://youtu.be/VrdfhaXE6YQ
http://youtu.be/q8o0EzzHBpQ
http://youtu.be/8hruP9ySzQA
http://youtu.be/fF2Ay3XysfY
http://youtu.be/o-Kl9sGSwMU
http://youtu.be/g-H7_6a0oX4
http://youtu.be/8zcuFoRF-4M

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Sorry, but due to a major server problem on the forum this morning my report from yesterday was lost. This is a summary of the watch with links for my photo album and videos that thankfully I could retrieve from youtube and Shutterfly. If you watch the videos they will pretty much tell the story.

The weather was perfect. I started the day with the super moon on the west side of my place and a super sunrise on the east. In the hole to begin with, I watched 2 gulls having a dispute and Dot.Ca (DC) on OCSR then he went to the jail tower where he was knocked off by a juvie. The rest of the watch was spent at the Frontier Communications Tower where first Carol, then Dana joined me. The boys-Mercury and Nor’Easter were present doing a lot of whining with full crops as they had both eaten but still begged the Beautyful one for more. They were back and forth from City Place to the tower until they both flew north and didn’t return. Beauty was left to nap in peace. I left at 10am after a fun 4 hour watch! 🙂

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqj2e

http://youtu.be/xL3V2_o3w6s
http://youtu.be/6tnGgh4ggGM
http://youtu.be/wyeP3TICsrM
http://youtu.be/-5QjditzKig
http://youtu.be/93eIEzsO53w
http://youtu.be/2g4mOOaLM-Q
http://youtu.be/fyRnKQ-Fs5I
http://youtu.be/asnDjaDuQ6M
http://youtu.be/HprrGkurcwU
http://youtu.be/gCxzu3B3Ayc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a beautiful morning for a watch with a starting temperature of 55 (F) 13 (C) and a hazy sunrise

Click on my pics to see full view

Dan was on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) when I arrived this morning-we didn’t see a falcon until 6:45am. We actually saw 2 fly thru behind the Times Square Building (TSB) and go south to the jail tower. They both landed and took off quickly in between talon tagging.

They disappeared and ended up at the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) where Carol tweeted seeing them. Dan and I went over there to join her in the parking lot across from Frontier by the Hochstein school of music. A juvie was on the City place building, Mercury was by the southeast cube of FCT and Beauty was on the top arm of FCT.

Mercury moved over and the City Place juvie flew south-then the Beautyful one and Mercury flew north. One of them landed on Kodak Office (KO) then Beauty came flying back with prey and landed on the FCT platform.

At first Beauty rested after carrying her package-she plucked feathers and had a bite then stood over the food. Dan left and Carol took a cruise while I stayed with Beauty who moved over to the east side before flying south.

I watched Beauty meet a juvie near Widows Walk (WW)-I believe a 2nd juvie joined in, then 1 juvie took off from WW and another landed on the north railing of WW. It had prey dangling from its talons so I suspect there was a food exchange. Beauty flew northwest, then the WW juvie flew off while I was tweeting.

As Carol and I met up at FCT again there were 2 juvies vocalizing on up there but I only found Nor’Easter at first then Mercurys head appeared-he soon started moving west on the beam away from Nor’Easter.

Beauty was above them watching as Mercury jumped up from the white section to the red leaving Nor’E behind.

That’s where I left them as I had to be somewhere-what a fun watch today having seen the boys for sure and Beauty, which put a smile on this old face! 🙂

Click on the links below to view todays videos

http://youtu.be/JpwRVOn4q5A

http://youtu.be/ZJ9IVdgpQTQ

http://youtu.be/mbnWWbNOQRU

http://youtu.be/WHVcel3HP0o