By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

(Please be sure to click on pics to see them in full size.)

It’s always a wonderful falcon watch when you see all 5 Rochester Falcons doing well!

When I first arrived, I spotted one falcon on the NE box on Frontier Comm Twr (FCT).  By the time I got there, the falcon on the box was gone and Dot.ca was on the top arm.

<— Dot.ca (DC) on the FCT arm.

Larry and his dog Zeke joined me in front of City Hall.  Larry spotted a falcon fly in and land near the disk.  It was Jupiter!

<— Jupiter on FCT.

After awhile, Jupiter took off.  Another juvie flew in and off towards the south.  We spotted a falcon sitting on the railing of Widows Walk (WW).  Larry had to leave, so I headed over to WW to ID the falcon there.  It was Lakota!

<— Lakota on WW railing.

So, I had 2 out of the 3 juvies.  Where could Phoenix be?

Another falcon flew in and landed on the railing near Lakota.  He was carrying a scrap of feathers.  After picking at the feathers, this juvie took off and flew past Lakota.  I was able to see the blue tape on the silver USFW band.  It was Phoenix!

<— Phoenix and Lakota on WW.

First Phoenix, then soon after, Lakota took off heading north.  I drove around and couldn’t find them.  So I headed back to the west side of Widows Walk.  From my car, I could hear very loud wailing.  After a few moments, I spotted two juvies up on the Times Square Bldg.

<— 2 juvies wailing on the Times Square Bldg (TSB).

A 3rd juvie, that I hadn’t seen, took off and then another.  Beauty came by with food and the chase was on!  I could only see bits and pieces of the chase due to the buildings surrounding me.  Both ended up flying towards the Powers Bldg.  Beauty returned without the food and landed on the WW railing.

<— Beauty on WW.

1 juvie remained on the TSB, wailing.  Both Beauty and the Juvie took off.  All of a sudden, there were no falcons in view.

Over on the Andrews St Bridge (ASB), I spotted two falcon on the Frontier Comm Tower.  I parked in front of City Hall, just in time to see a food exchange south of FCT.  Dot.ca brought in a pigeon, which he transferred to Phoenix.  Phoenix flew low over the street I was parked on and disappeared from view.

<— Phoenix with a pigeon.

That’s when I saw Dana.  She thought that Phoenix might have landed on the roof of the building.  We looked, but couldn’t find him.

We could still hear a juvie wailing up on FCT, and spotted both Dot.ca and Lakota up there.

<— Dot.ca on FCT.

<— Lakota on FCT.

After awhile, we spotted a juvie really low on FCT.  We thought this might have been Phoenix.  He took off and so did Lakota.  They both ended up on the north end of City Place on the ledge that we call Beauty’s Bathing Spot.

<— Juvie on City Place.

<— Juvie flying by FCT.

One juvie headed back to FCT.  It was Phoenix.  Dot.ca took off.  We could no longer see the juvie on City Place.

When I ended my watch at 11 am, I had seen all 5 Rochester falcons; Beauty, Dot.ca, Jupiter, Lakota and Phoenix.  It had been a very good morning falcon watch!

Here are a few pics from my Wednesday morning watch.  That day, I was only able to find Beauty, Dot.ca and Lakota.

<— Beauty on WW.

<— Beauty on FCT.

<— Lakota on WW.

<— Dot.ca on FCT.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

(Be sure to click on the pics to see the full size.)

I and other watchers have been out most days, keeping an eye on our 3 young tiercels, Jupiter, Lakota and Phoenix.  Over this past week they’ve been tearing up the sky above downtown Rochester.

Today was no exception.  When I arrived downtown, I found Beauty on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg and Phoenix on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).

<— Beauty on Cross Rds Bldg.

<— Phoenix on FCT.

I made my way over to City Hall where I found a parking spot with a great view of Phoenix.  He was in total hunt mode, watching everything that moved.  His head was in constant motion.

He took off, chasing a Robin over the City Hall Roof and back towards FCT. Mid-flight, he broke it off and ended up chasing a pigeon towards City Place.  He was right on their tails, so close to a successful hunt.  The pigeon landed and Phoenix returned to the Frontier Comm Twr.

It wasn’t long before he took off again, chasing pigeons and landing on the church just north of FCT.

<— Phoenix on church roof.

Phoenix took off again, heading west.  I could hear loud kakking, but couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.  Finally, I spotted Phoenix flying and swooping over a building (we’ll call it the owl bldg.) to the west.  He was going after the two fake owls on the roof.  Back and forth, kak kak kak!  It make me laugh, watching this young falcon defend his territory.

After beating those dastardly plastic owls, Phoenix returned to FCT.

<— Phoenix on FCT.

Dana joined me and we settled in to watch Phoenix’s attempts at hunting.  If he hasn’t already had a successful hunt, he’s very close.

<— Phoenix on FCT.

After awhile, Phoenix took off, heading east.  We waited for awhile, but he did not return.

<— Phoenix heading east.

Joyce joined us, and we all met on the Court St. Bridge.  Dana had spotted Beauty on top of the Jail Communication Tower.  Beauty took off and flew over us, heading towards Xerox.

We chatted for awhile, but saw no further falcon activity.  So, we split up to search the area.

I found Beauty on the north side of Xerox.

<— Beauty on Xerox.

Dana tweeted that she had three juvies playing on City Place.  I got there just in time to see them all go in different directions.  Jupiter settled on FCT.

<— Jupiter on FCT.

While Dana and I were watching Jupiter, we saw an adult, probably Beauty do a food transfer to Lakota and Phoenix.  They ended up over by Widows Walk (WW).

<— Food Transfer Adult to two Juvies.

Jupiter took off and headed in that direction, and so did we.  I found Lakota on the north side of WW, lower ledge with food.  Dana found both Jupiter and Phoenix up on the west end, back of the Times Square Bldg.

<— Lakota with food on WW.

It didn’t take Lakota long to finish his meal.

<— Lakota on WW.

Joyce joined us.  It started to rain and Lakota took off.  He joined his brothers on the back of the Times Square Bldg.  It was great seeing all three brothers together.

<— l-r Lakota, Jupiter and Phoenix

It was time to end my morning watch.  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I’ve been out weekly, along with many other watchers, keeping an eye on the falcons, making sure all was peaceful and quiet.

The eyases are getting bigger and bigger and Beauty and Dot.ca are hunting and bringing in lots of food for their growing young ones.  They’ve also been busy keeping their territory free of intruders, including the many Turkey Vultures that are floating through on migration.

Here are a few pics from my recent watches.

<— Beauty on Mercury, while DC was with the eyases.

<— Beauty escorting a TV out of her territory.

<— Beauty lands on the wing ledge on the TSB.

<— Dot.ca on Cam 1.

Enjoy this Memorial Day, and remember those that we’ve lost and those that have served and still serve.  <3

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It’s was a long, cold Winter.  Finally, Spring has sprung (although it’s still cold – Brrrrrr!) and love is in the air for our Rochester Peregrine Falcon pair.  Beauty and Dot.ca have been seen mating and hanging out at the Times Square Bldg nest box.  Can’t wait to see their first egg.  🙂

I, and other Watchers, have been keeping an eye on our Rochester Falcons, Beauty & Dot.ca and Billie and her new beau, an unbanded tiercel.  I got a really nice look at them this past weekend.

Sunday, 3/17/19

Downtown:

From the Court St Bridge, I could see that Dot.ca was inside the Times Sq Bldg (TSB) nest box.

I got out of my car to check out the river, which was living up to it’s name, the Mighty Genesee River.  The water was raging from the Spring thaw, flowing south to north, towards Lake Ontario.

I drove over to Aqueduct St (aka “the hole”) and found fellow falcon watcher Dana watching Beauty up on the Wilder Bldg.

Dana told me that I had just missed Beauty and Dot.ca mating up there.

After awhile, Beauty took off and flew up to the nest box.  We could hear them chupping, so I’m sure they were bowing to each other.

Dot.ca flew out of the nest box and landed on the Wilder Bldg green strip.

Seneca Tower Area

All was quiet and peaceful, so Dana and I headed over to the west side of the river across from Seneca Towers.  We met up with fellow watcher Ron K, who had spotted both Billie and her new beau in the trees on the west side of the gorge.  I was glad he was there to point them out, because I sure would have had a hard time finding them.

<—- Billie

<— Billie’s beau

He is unbanded and such a cute little guy.  So happy she found a new mate after the loss of Seth.

They both took off and flew together over the river.  It was time for us to end our watch.

Ron walks through this area quite often and has been keeping an eye on them.  He has seen them mating.  Ron sent me a few recent pictures he’s taken of Billie and her beau and has given me permission to share them in my report.  Thanks Ron!

Pictures by Ron Kalasinskas

<— Billie

And her beau…..

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Hello fellow falcon fans!  I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Although there have been no reports, be assured that we have been keeping an eye on our Rochester Falcons.

It’s been very cold here in Rochester, NY and we’ve had some snow.  I wanted to get out this morning before the rain started this afternoon.

It didn’t take me long to find both Beauty and Dot.ca.  They were sitting side-by-side on the Frontier Communication Tower’s NE box.

I moved around to the other side to get a different view.

Both Beauty and Dot.ca took off and the hunt was on!  The Church Pigeons were off!  Dot.ca flew north and Beauty chased the pigeons.  She was unsuccessful and I watched as she flew southeast.

<— Beauty on the hunt!

<— Church Pigeons

Dot.ca returned to the NE box on the Frontier Communication Tower.  I could hear him kakking.

<— DC on Frontier Comm Tower (FCT)

I left Dot.ca to try to find Beauty.  After having no luck finding her, I parked on the Andrew St Bridge.  From there, I had a great view of the area.  I could see that Dot.ca was no longer on FCT.

At first I couldn’t see them.  There they were!  Both were on the corner of City Place which is just south of the Frontier Communication Tower.  Beauty had a successful hunt and she was eating.  Dot.ca was watching her and waiting patiently.

<— My View from the Andrew St Bridge of B&DC on City Place

From the Hochstein parking lot I could see Dot.ca on the corner and just a bit of Beauty as she ate her meal.

<— Dot.ca and Beauty on City Place

Every now and then I got a glimpse of Beauty.  Dot.ca preened and attempted to get rid of a pellet.

When Beauty had her fill, she walked towards Dot.ca with the remainder of her meal.

<— Beauty gives the leftovers to Dot.ca.

Dot.ca took her offering and flew off with it towards the Frontier Communication Tower.  He landed on top of the white disk.

While Dot.ca ate, Beauty remained on the corner of City Place.

<— Beauty on City Place

It started to lightly rain, so I ended my downtown watch.  It was great seeing Beauty and Dot.ca doing well as Winter approached.

On my way home, I stopped at Maplewood Park for a quick look at Seneca Towers (ST).  I could only see one falcon, and based on size, I believe it was Billie on the north end window ledge.

Last weekend, 11/18/18, Kathy O and I had seen both Billie and her beau on top of ST.

It looks like this small tiercel is continuing to hang out with Billie.  🙂

Keep warm everyone and enjoy the upcoming holiday season!

By Carol P.

My heart hasn’t been into falcon watching for awhile and yesterday I found out a good friend had passed away.  Donna loved the falcons and every living creature.  Well, she wasn’t too fond of snakes and spiders. lol  When I heard she had passed away, it broke my heart.  It just goes to show that life is too darn short.

So, that being said, this will be my last report for awhile.  Time to take a break.  Beauty and Dot.ca are continuing to guard their downtown territory.  If anything changes with our pair, it will be reported.  There are other watchers that keep an eye on things too.  So hopefully they’ll report and share pictures now and then.  That would be nice.  🙂

On Monday, Kathy O and I saw both Beauty and Dot.ca together on the Frontier Communication Tower.  We even got to hear some ee-chupping.  Love that sound!

So, here are some pictures of the off-season visitors and other things.  There is a young male, hatched in 2017 hanging out at a nearby mall (Marketplace).  His name is Fission and he comes from Canada.  We also have a visitor at the BS location again this year.  By size, I’d guess a female, and she’s unbanded.  I can’t be sure, but it may be the same female that we’ve had past Winters.

Fission (at Marketplace Mall)

BS Girl

Miscellaneous Birds and Stuff

I’ll end with a couple pics of Beauty and Dot.ca from Monday.

Fly Free Donna.  You will be truly missed.  🙁

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Well, here I am catching up again.  Since my last report, there have been no sightings of any of our juvies.  Looks like they’ve left the area.  Of course, they may pop up again for a visit.  You just never know.  If they are seen again, we’ll be sure to report it.

In the meantime, both Beauty and Dot.ca are frequently seen keeping guard over their downtown territory.  They have been seen many times on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) and the Old Changing Scenes Restaurant (OCSR).  Our cameras have even caught Beauty and Dot.ca at the Powers nest box now and then, but not too often.

Here are some pictures from my falcon watches (8/20 to 9/15).  Enjoy!

*Be sure to click on any pics to see the full version.*

8/20/18

<—Beauty & Dot.ca on FCT

<— Billie at ST

8/26/18

<— Beauty on base of Mercury

<— Early morning sun on the river

<— Life on the Genesee River

<— Billie at ST

9/1/18

<— Beauty on FCT

<— Dot.ca on OCSR

<— High Falls

9/2/18

<— Dot.ca on OCSR – Beauty on FCT

9/3/18

<— Beauty on FCT

<— Dot.ca on Powers Bldg

<— Dot.ca on FCT

9/8/18

<—Beauty & Dot.ca on OCSR

<— Beauty & Dot.ca on OCSR

9/9/18

<— Dot.ca on FCT

<— DC & Beauty on OCSR

<— Billie at ST

9/15/18

<— Beauty on FCT

<— Beauty on FCT

<— Dot.ca on OCSR

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I’ve been out a few times over the past week, but haven’t had time to post pics.  So, here we go.

The heat continues here in Rochester, NY and so do the falcon sightings.  I’ve seen juvies a couple of the days I was out.  I thought it was Sundara I last saw eating on OCSR, but after checking my pictures, I’m pretty sure I’m seeing a “2”, not a “9” on he black/green band.  I was very surprised!

Here are some pictures I wanted to share.  Enjoy! and make sure that you click on them to see the full image.

8/11/18

Beauty & Dot.ca sharing a meal on the library.

8/12/18

Now for a surprise.  I thought I was watching Sundara, but after checking my pics, I’m almost certain I’m seeing a 2 on the band.  So, this was Mike!!!  He was on OCSR with Beauty.

8/13/18

Juvie eating on FCT.  Was not able to ID.

8/19/18

The only falcon I saw during my Sunday morning falcon watch was Beauty.  I first saw her on the Jail Comm Twr, then OCSR and finally on Mercury’s foot.  She was very wet, preening after a bath.  Larry O and Zeke joined me on the Court St Bridge.

<— Beauty on Mercury’s foot.

Here are pictures of a Great Blue Heron and a Kingfisher hunting on the river below.

Beauty took off, heading east.  After driving around, I found her on the Frontier Communication Tower.

At the end of my watch, I checked out Seneca Towers, and the east and west ends of Kodak Park.  I found no falcons, but at the west end of Kodak Park, I found 100’s of Gold Finches eating in the fields and drinking from puddles.  They must be migrating.  That was awesome to see!

Enjoy the day!  I’ll continue to let you all know what I’m seeing on my falcon watches.  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another very warm day in Rochester, NY, with temps of 90 degrees (F) due.  No rain in the forecast, just clear, blue skies.

*Be sure to click on any pictures in this report to see the full image.*

I joined Dan on the Court St Bridge just before 7:00 am.  It’s always fun to join Dan on an early morning falcon watch.  Downtown was pretty much empty, no JW’s or festivals this weekend.  I grabbed my chair and coffee and settled down for my morning watch.  There were no falcons to be seen, but there was a lot of activity above and on the river below us.  Lots of gulls and ducks and herons.  Dan pointed out the Black-Crowned Night Heron (BCNH) hunting for fish on the river and another one that had flown into the tree near the library.  As we were watching them, a third BCNH flew into the tree just below the one that was already there.

On the south side of the bridge, we saw two Great Egrets come in for a landing.  A third continued south down the river.

Also, there were two Great Blue Herons hunting below.

Larry O (with Zeke) joined us at 7:2o am and Joyce (with Casey and Abby) joined us at 7:45 am.  Although we had no falcons to watch, it was fun catching up with everyone and watching the river life below us.

At 8:00 am, Dan headed home and Joyce, Larry O and I headed over to the Frontier Communication Tower.  Joyce spotted one falcon on the east side below the platform.  Since it was quiet and we saw no others, we headed over to the pedestrian bridge at High Falls.  There was an adult Red-tailed Hawk on the south side of the pedestrian bridge, surrounded by House Finches!

Joyce pointed out where she saw the falcon on FCT.  This was our view from the pedestrian bridge.

The Red-tailed Hawk took off and landed in a tree in front of the falls.

This was our view of the falls and downtown area.  Not much water was flowing over the falls due to the lack of rain.

Larry had to leave, so Joyce and I returned to the Frontier Communication Tower, where we found both Beauty and Dot.ca.  There was definitely a juvie falcon up there, but we never did see it.  Beauty was on the north side of the platform and Dot.ca was under the platform on the east side.  We could hear the juvie falcon wailing every now and then.  Especially when Beauty moved.  We figured she was somewhere up there on the platform with Beauty.

Carrie joined us and I really hoped that Sundara would make an appearance for her.  Carrie is the falcon watcher that named her.  I ended my watch when our shade shrunk down to nothing around 10:45 am.  The temperature was rising and the falcons would hopefully find shade of their own.  I hoped my sacrifice would bring Sundara out of hiding.  🙂

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The heat continues, on and on and on and on……

High 80’s today and mid-90’s the next two days.  Plus the high humidity, makes it pretty much unbearable.

*Please be sure to click on any pictures to see the full image.*

I arrived on the Court St Bridge (CSB) just before 6 am.  I had hoped to find Dan there.  After about 15 minutes, with no falcon watchers or falcons in sight, I headed over to the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).  As I approached, I could see a falcon on the lowest arm.  It was Beauty and she was facing south.

About three minutes later, I heard that most wonderful sound of a juvie wailing.  It landed on the east side platform railing, just below Beauty.

While I was tweeting this out, both took off while I wasn’t looking.  This happens very frequently to the falcon watchers.  Again, I was searching.  From the CSB, I found Beauty on the Jail Communication Tower (JCT).  From where I was, I could not find the juvie.

Beauty took off, heading north, back towards the FCT.  That’s exactly where I found her.  She was in hunt mode, so I settled in to watch her, hoping the juvie would return.

At 7:30 am, Beauty took off, this time heading west.  I waited to see if she would return.

Eight minutes later, a falcon flew in from the east, carrying food and landing on top of the large white drum on FCT.  The juvie was following close behind, also landing on the drum.  It was Dot.ca who had brought in food for the juvie.

Dot.ca left the juvie and landed up on FCT.

Larry joined me, with Zeke.  He collected one of the feathers that fell from the prey the juvie was eating.  Can anyone guess what it might be?

We were chatting when I yelled out FOOD!  lol  Now you have to know that I saw a falcon flying in low carrying prey.  Larry knew exactly what I meant when I yelled FOOD!  hahaha!  It was Beauty and she landed very low on the Frontier Communication Tower.  She had brought in a pigeon, and she was panting when she landed.

The juvie finished eating and hopped off the drum into the framework.  Dot.ca watched from above.

Beauty continued to eat her meal, until there was just a little bit left.

The juvie continued to wail, loudly.  Guess Dot.ca’s offering wasn’t big enough.  When Beauty finished eating, she looked up at her young one, answering softly.  Beauty took off with her leftovers and the juvie followed.  The juvie flew up to meet her and Larry and I watched a perfect food transfer overhead.  After tucking the food in, the juvie returned to the FCT.

After eating, the juvie took off with the food and took it up to the top of the drum.  It looked like a good place to cache the food.  Both the juvie and Beauty had very full crops.

Dot.ca had other ideas for the leftovers.  It was his turn to eat breakfast.  He landed next to the juvie on the drum.  The juvie wasn’t happy, but decided to let dad have it.

While Beauty watched from above on the platform, the juvie landed below her in the framework.

Joyce, with Abbey & Casey, joined me at about 10 am.  Dot.ca finished his meal and flew over, landing just below the juvie.  This was our first good comparison.  Based on the size difference, we believe that the juvie we had been watching all morning was Sundara.  I never did get a good enough picture of her bands for a positive ID.

This was the time my camera battery died.  So no more pictures.  While Joyce and I watched over the next hour, Dot.ca gave a stooping lesson to Sundara.  He dove off of the tower and Sundara followed.  Beauty followed after them.  All three ended up very low on the communication tower.  That’s where they remained, until I left at a little before 11 am.  After I left, Joyce reported seeing both Beauty and Dot.ca leave.

Tomorrow will be a very warm day.  Stay cool everyone!