By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Todays starting temperature was 33 (F) and 1 (C) and a bit cloudy at first but the sun came out and blue skies took over-a real nice winter day watch

As I turned onto State St. from Church St. I spotted him right away on his corner-that would be Dot.Ca on the north corner of the OCSR building. I pulled over snapped 1 pic then he flew off to the northeast toward the Andrews Terrace Apartments to stir up the pigeons. I got a very blurry bad take off shot.

I drove to the Andrews St. bridge to look for DC and spotted him back on his corner and Beauty was on the same ibeam on the northeast side of OCSR. I proceeded to go over to Bragdon St. by the Radisson Hotel for closer viewing.

<Click it <DC <Beauty>

About half an hour later I watched DC take a running start and fly over to the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) landing on the top arm northeast side while Beauty stayed behind.

I shared space with the Beautyful one for another half while she preened and gaped (gaping, a behavior where the head is thrown back and the bird appears to be swallowing air. Although in still shots it can look to less experienced watchers as if he’s calling, there are no sounds made during gaping and it’s actually a very different “look” than when they are vocalizing. Researchers are not sure why gaping takes place, but there are a couple theories: one is that gaping is a peregrine’s way of dislodging feathers that may get caught in the throat following preening. The other theory is that gaping equalizes the air pressure in their ears after a change in altitude or “sudden changes in barometric pressure, as when a cold front moves in” (described by Steve Sherrod in “Behavior of Fledgling Peregrines”).

I left Beauty as she turned her back to me and got cinched in and DC who was in hunt mode over on FCT to check on Pigott over at the Brighton Site (BS). When I first got there I saw a falcon fly toward the north (front) side of building so I drove around and on the east side I saw it land on the roof by the tree and take off again flying north again. I could hear distant whining so I figured DC had arrived.  When I reached the east side again I saw tail feathers hanging over the ledge by the tree (Pigott) and DC was up on the southeast corner of the east extension whining because Pigott had food.

<DC> <Pigott>

When Pigott was finished eating she came forward on the ledge and that’s when DC made his move by flying over to the same ledge and sneaking in from behind Pigott to grab her leftovers and make the great escape with it. (I have it on one of my videos) He’s a very funny character that DC! lol

<Pigott

<DC

He took his stolen goods back to the same corner on the east extension and started eating briefly. He stopped and took it across to the southwest extension to finish it off. Eventually Pigott flew over and went past him on her way to the west side as he was feaking and cleaning up. I found her on a south facing top window ledge on the west side extension.

<DC

DC flew off and I wasn’t sure where he was until I noticed his reflection in one of the windows where Pigott was perched. I just stayed put and watched them as he echupped.

Miss Pigott decided to to take a walk to the corner (she loves to get her walks in). At around 10am KrisG and her hubby Bill stopped by for half hour.

<Click it   <DC

That’s all she wrote folks-Kris and Bill left and I had to get going as well. I had another nice watch seeing all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons and a couple of falcon watching friends which always puts a smile on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below to view some videos

http://youtu.be/H4C1xbROiBM

http://youtu.be/RFwMBjCt8JQ

http://youtu.be/8QDn2q7S4b4

http://youtu.be/8Is_V8p1tbM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another dark and dreary overcast day here in Rochester,NY but warm with a starting temperature of 37 degrees (F) 3 (C)

My first hour was falconless so I left downtown to check on the Brighton Site (BS) arriving there at 8:10am. Pigott was on the west end of the south side vent looking around her territory. 10 minutes later she took off to the east going into a stoop as she approached the treed area.

Miss Pigott came back and landed on the south side of the southwest extension briefly then flew west then headed toward the front of the building .

I then heard chupping coming from the cubby but by the time I went around the building to reach the cubby it was quiet. I continued on to the south (back) side of BS and found Pigott on the northwest corner of the southwest extension and Dot.Ca (DC) on the southwest corner of the southwest extension.

<Pigott> <Click it

<DC

They didn’t stay put for long when both took flight heading north toward the front of the building with Pigott returning to the southwest extension.

She was looking around I assumed for DC but he never rejoined her while I was there. She flew over to the west end of the south side vent and got settled in.

I left at this time to look for Beauty downtown since I hadn’t seen her on my watch yet. Let me tell ya, she was hiding very well on me today as I spent over 2 hours searching in vain for her. i even went to the Pont de Rennes pedestrian bridge to check the High Falls gorge for her. Unfortunately I got a parking ticket on Bragdon St. while checking the elevator shaft for the Beautyful one-I was gone 1 minute from my car and saw the parking enforcement officer as I turned around but it was too late, he already put my info into his electronic meter. 🙁 I finally had to give up and call it a watch at 11:15am which didn’t set right with me.

So fast forward to the afternoon as I was finishing taking Jeannes’ dogs for a walk I got a tweet from Shaky that there was a falcon on the Frontier Communications Tower. I beat feet to Church St. where I pulled over just in time to ID it as Beauty and then she flew southeast. YAHOO!

So I saw all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons today and left for home smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to view a couple videos

http://youtu.be/W9oeF2R1uVw
http://youtu.be/t7dCpyIua50

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was like a heatwave this morning as I left for my watch the temperature was 34 (F) 1 (C) which is warmer than the high temperatures the last few days. It also meant complete cloud cover which made it dark and dreary

It took me a while but I finally found our downtown duo at 7:30am on Midtown. Beauty was eating on the northeast corner of the top level. Dot.Ca (DC) was on the 2nd level down near the southeast corner.

<DC   

Both Beauty and DC left Midtown while I was tweeting their location. I drove to the Broad St. Bridge and pulled over as I saw Beauty on the base of Mercury and DC  up under the northeast wing of the Times Square building.

<Click it

5-10 minutes later DC flew off and I missed it so I had no idea what direction he went. 10 minutes later DC showed up on the top ibeam of OCSR southeast side. He had a small bit of food he was picking at so I assume it was cached food. 5 minutes later Beauty left Mercury so I left the bridge and went over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. to watch DC. There was a gull on a light pole there to greet me when I arrived.

<Click it  

DC finished his small package quickly, cleaned himself up and around 8:10am  flew off and around to the northeast side of OCSR.

To my surprise as I watched DC go in for the landing on the 2nd ibeam I spotted Beauty right where he was heading. Thanks for the help buddy! He landed very close to her and tried to steal a piece but she would have none of that-she shot him a look and he ran, yes I said ran to the north corner! lol

I left them to check for Pigott at the Brighton site-arriving there about 8:30am I found her on the southwest corner of the southwest extension. She was definitely looking for a meal to fly into her radar. It didn’t happen so she flew east for a look past the treed area.

She returned empty taloned, circled the building and landed on the northwest corner of the northwest extension to try her luck from there. She didn’t fair any better there.

At 9:07 Miss Pigott spread her wings and took flight circling the building and coming to rest on the northeast corner of the northeast extension.

Pigott was picking at cached leftovers but there were more feathers than food left on it. She gave up on it and settled with her back to me so I left to return to downtown to wind down my watch. I found Beauty in the same spot as I left her on the northeast side of OCSR 2nd ibeam. She was intent on looking northeast for the few minutes that I stayed with her.

I ended my watch at 9:30am with a smile because I had seen all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons and they had all eaten something! 🙂

Check out the links below to view my videos

http://youtu.be/WJGfWQHZtF4
http://youtu.be/2IldvEDDL-k
http://youtu.be/kjTn3zsd2fE
http://youtu.be/xLwAsWHKNnc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

What a damp, dreary, gloomy day to end my Thanksgiving break.  Oh, well, seeing Beauty, Dot.ca, Pigott and a Snowy Owl brightened it up considerably!

I’ll start out with a little non-falcon reporting.  My watch was in two parts today.  My morning watch was all about the lake shore, where I looked for Billy, but was unable to find her.  I stopped at Charlotte and spotted Dana walking back from the pier.  She told me that there was a Snowy Owl at the end of the Summerville Pier.  I headed out on the Charlotte Pier, which is directly across from the Summerville Pier.  The pier was covered in ice and was very treacherous.  Walk like a penguin!  I got out about 3/4’s of the way and was able to see the Snowy at the end of the other pier.  It was well worth the walk to see this gorgeous bird.  I didn’t stay too long and on the way back I saw quite a few different ducks.

My afternoon watch was all about finding the Rochester Falcons.  It was raining pretty steadily by then.  At the BS location, I found Dot.ca flying around clutching prey in his talon.  He finally settled on the northwest corner of the northwest extension and ate his meal.  Pigott was home as well.  She was on a west facing window near the cubby.

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I left Dot.ca and Pigott at BS to go downtown to look for Beauty.  It didn’t take me long to find Beauty on the north side of OCSR on the top IBeam.  She was busy preening in the rain.

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So my quick afternoon watch was a success.  All three Rochester Falcons found!

I’ll leave you with a few pics from my morning watch.  Remember to click on any pics you would like to see larger.  Good Day!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

10:30 am to 3:30 pm

As I was driving south down State St I could see a falcon flying around the Kodak Tower.  I found both Beauty and Dot.ca on the north side, Beauty on the north side launchpad eating and Dot.ca below her on an antenna just above the playpen. (11:00 am)

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I drove around to the west side of the tower to see if I could get a better view.  That’s when Dot.ca flew over carrying a small piece of prey heading towards the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).  He landed on the northeast box and then up to the top of the large white drum on the east side of of FCT. (11:15 am)

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At 11:40 am, Dot.ca finished his small meal and headed back to the Kodak Tower.

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When I arrived at the Kodak Tower both Dot.ca and Beauty were on the launchpad, Beauty on the north side and Dot.ca on the northeast corner.

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Just after I arrived, both Beauty and Dot.ca started to kak, kak, kak! First Dot.ca and then Beauty took off and chased a 3rd Peregrine Falcon off to the north.  It wasn’t long before they returned to the north side of the Kodak Tower, Dot.ca returned to the northeast corner of the launchpad and Beauty landed at the base of the playpen on the north side. (11:50 am)

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Since it was quiet, I headed over to BS to look for Pigott and could not find her. (12:20 pm)  So, I headed back downtown to find Beauty and Dot.ca in the same spots I had left them.  Dana joined me on the watch. (12:40 pm)

We chatted for awhile and since all was quiet, Dana decided to head over to the BS location.  Just after Dana left, both Beauty and Dot.ca took off.  I checked out the downtown area and could not find them, so I also headed back over to the BS location.  We looked for Pigott and again could not find her.  At 2:20 pm, a falcon flew in from the north and landed on the northwest corner of the northwest extension.  We were pretty sure that Dot.ca had arrived.

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A Red-tail Hawk was soaring over the east end of the building and Dot.ca started to kak kak kak! He chased the hawk to the east and returned to the spot he had vacated.

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At 2:45 pm, both Dana and I ended our watch.  We checked the lake again and again could not find any falcons there.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures I took during my watch today.  Remember to click on any you would like to see larger.  Goodnight everyone!

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Buck Pond Sunset.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Felt more like January than November when I stepped out the door this morning. When I got downtown the bank clock on State St. said it was 16 degrees (F)  -9 (C). It was clear and sunny to start with clouds moving in toward the end of my watch

I was a little later than usual to get downtown and when I did arrive at7:14am Dot.Ca (DC) was on the top ibeam south corner of OCSR. He was looking northwest and as I tweeted my findings DC left the building.

So I went in search of and found Beauty 20 minutes later on the Kodak Office (KO) launchpad. She was perched on the northeast corner and she was looking for breakfast as I pulled over on State St. by Platt St..

I moved to Mill St. to be a little closer.

The Beautyful one was watching some pigeons that were trying to hide from her lower on the building. She flew off and flew back and forth trying to flush them out to no avail.

Beauty returned to the launchpad and a few minutes later was off again circling the building many times and eventually disappearing behind the building to the west out of sight and didn’t return.

I circled the building myself looking for her with no luck so I left for Brighton. I arrived there about 8:45am but after circling the premises I could find no falcons. I waited half hour or so to no avail-nobody showed up so I went back downtown. After a search I ended up back at KO where I found DC this time on the northeast corner of the launchpad.

DC turned around showing me his back so I went down to Broad St. by State St. to watch him and a few minutes later he flew off going northwest and didn’t return.

I checked all sides of KO and came up empty, then I took a look around downtown with no sightings. I decided to end my watch at 9:40am. Keep smiling people! 🙂

Click on the links below to view a couple videos

http://youtu.be/NgskGSuiJGY
http://youtu.be/SVrHc3swYFE

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

11:00 am – 4:30 pm

What better way to spend a day off than to go out and look for Falcons!  The first hour of my watch was spent driving along the lake shore looking for Billy.  Sorry to say, I wasn’t able to find her.  So I headed downtown and found a falcon on the south side of OCSR on the top IBeam.  At first I thought it was Dot.ca (DC), but I am convinced now that it was Beauty in the blazing noon hour sunlight.  It was very cold, with temps never making it out of the 20’s (F), but with blue sky and brilliant sunshine it was a gorgeous day to be out and about. (Noon)

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I looked all over downtown, but could not find a 2nd falcon.  It was time to head over to BS.

On the south side of the building I found Pigott on a west facing window on the southeast extension and who I thought was Dot.ca on the southeast corner of the southeast extension.  From their positions, they could not see each other.  (12:30 pm)

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At first Pigott seemed to just be relaxing, then she started to move around and prepare for take-off.  That’s when I got a big surprise.  Pigott flew up to the tiercel I thought was DC at that time and WHAM!  He took off like a bullet with Pigott right behind.  I watched in amazement as Pigott chased this tiercel high and low, sometimes just skimming the ground then gaining altitude and making turns that seemed impossible.  Something you would expect from two of the fastest creatures on the planet.  The tiercel U-turned back towards the building and landed above the vent.  Pigott was not happy and she continually dove on him over and over again.  Each time the tiercel would duck and spread his wings in defense.  (12:50 pm)

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There was little vocalization during all of this surprisingly.  The tiercel took off and the chase was on!

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The tiercel again returned to the building and landed on top of the southeast extension.  Pigott did a flyby and then landed on the south side vent to keep an eye on him and take a breather.

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The middle picture above shows a silver or white band on the left leg of this tiercel.  Both Pigott and Dot.ca have black bands on their left legs.  After a little while, they both took off and all was quiet at the BS location.  I waited to see if either of them would return.  After a 1/2 hr of waiting, I headed back downtown to find a falcon with its back to me on the Times Square Bldg on the southeast wing ledge.  I could not positively ID this falcon, but I do think it was Beauty.  Again, I looked all over downtown for a second falcon and could not find one.  (1:50 pm)

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OK, time to head back to the BS location.  (2:25 pm)  When I arrived, there were two falcons on the south side of the building.  Pigott was on the west end of the south side vent and a tiercel was up on the southeast corner of the southwest extension.  They both looked like they had food.  Pigott was prepping a pigeon and the tiercel had a small tidbit that he finished quickly.  The tiercel flew past Pigott, who did not react much at all, and landed on the southeast corner of the southeast extension.

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When he lifted his talon, I could clearly see a black band on this tiercel’s left leg.  It was Dot.ca!   He finished preening and looked over at Pigott, watching her prep lunch.  He spread his wings and flew over to land on the vent next to Pigott. (3:15 pm)

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Dot.ca watched Pigott  pluck feathers, the breeze blowing them his way.  It wasn’t long before he walked up to her and broke off a bit of her meal.  She didn’t seem to mind.  lol  He took his small portion of prey back to the southwest corner of the southeast extension to eat it.  What a difference in behavior from this morning!

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Dot.ca finished his snack and took off, heading west.  Pigott continued to eat.

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Dana joined me on the watch.  I caught her up on what was happening.  We were thinking that Dot.ca probably headed back downtown, but boy were we surprised when he returned and landed on the south side roof of the west extension and he wasn’t alone.  He had gone on a hunt and what a hunt for a tiercel who would normally catch smaller prey than the females.  No starling for him.  He caught himself a very light colored (almost white) pigeon.  This pigeon was almost as big as he was!

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I have actually seen Dot.ca catch a pigeon before, but it’s always a surprise to see him with something so large.  After a quick rest on the roof, Dot.ca took off with his catch and landed on a east facing window on the southwest extension.  From there, he could see Pigott and she could see him.  If Pigott was impressed by Dot.ca’s successful hunt, she didn’t show it.  She continued to eat her own meal.

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Dot.ca again took off and carried his meal to the southeast corner of the east extension.  This is where he settled in to prep his meal, feathers flying.  Pigott finished her meal and joined Dot.ca on the east end of the building, landing on an east facing window below the tree ledge, her crop bulging.

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The crows were gathering and their vocalization filled the air.  A couple brave ones attempted to scare Dot.ca off so they could take his meal, but he wasn’t intimidated at all.  After a 2nd attempt, he yelled out a few KAK KAK KAK’s and the crows dispersed.  They knew it wasn’t smart to fool with a hungry tiercel!

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Dana and I left Pigott and Dot.ca at a little after 4:00 pm.  It was time to end my watch and head home.  Goodnight everyone!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another cold morning with clear skies and a temp of 20 (F) -7 (C)

Beauty threw me off a bit today as she was on the southwest side of OCSR as opposed to the southeast side. I stayed with her for a little more than a half hour then I went to Brighton (BS) to see if Dot.Ca (DC) was over there.

I arrived at BS about 7:40am to find a falcon on the southeast corner of the southeast extension perched in an open spot where Pigott had cleared the snow of yesterday. It flew off as I barely got my camera pointed at it.

Looked small and white chested so it clearly wasn’t Miss Pigott but I’m not so sure if it was DC or another male. Anyway, I drove round the building and found Pigott on an east facing top floor window ledge on the southwest extension and she was plucking feathers from a small piece of food.

Part of a wing fell off the edge and I walked over to the building below her to see if I could identify what kind of prey she was eating but it never made it to the ground. I snapped a pic of her above me showing only her tail feathers hanging over the edge.

After she finished eating Pigott took a stroll to the other end of the ledge and started watching the starlings in the immediate area. She looked up, down and all around.

She then flew over to the opposite side of the building landing on a west facing window ledge on the southeast extension. This is where I left her to return to downtown.

When I got to the Broad St. Bridge I couldn’t help but notice 2 white figures on OCSR.  I drove down to the hole  on Bank Place to observe them. The sun was shining bright on Beauty and DC who were on the top ibeam-she was still on the southwest side and he was on the south corner. They were so bright white that I thought I was seeing ghosts!

<Click it<DC

I then went down to Graves St. by Aqueduct Park to see if a different angle would cut down on the glare but it really didn’t.

<DC<Beauty <Click it

So I chalked up another 3 falcon watch and left the city smiling at 8:45am! 🙂

Click on the links below to view my videos

http://youtu.be/Hd0fS1NAqmg
http://youtu.be/nnfKtnKG1hc
http://youtu.be/YYpCKPmAN6o

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to all of the Rochester Falcon Fans!  It turned out to be a very nice day, and after eating lots of turkey and all the fixins, I headed out for a quick look this afternoon.

The BS location was my first stop.  I found Pigott on the southeast corner of the east extension.  Just as I was maneuvering my car for the best vantage point, Dot.ca flew in and landed next to Pigott.  Before I could take a picture, he was off again, this time landing on the southeast corner of the south east extension, just above the tree ledge.  I’ve noticed that he really doesn’t seem to like to land in snow, and thankfully this corner was cleared from him.

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There were clouds moving through and sometimes the sky was blue and sometimes the sky was gray as you can see in these two pictures.

After awhile, Dot.ca took off heading south east over the trees.  I waited to see if he would return, but he did not.  After about a 1/2 hour, I headed downtown to look for Beauty.

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It didn’t take me long to find Beauty.  As soon as I turned the corner from Exchange onto Broad St I spotted her on top of Mercury’s moneybag hand.

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I went down to Aqueduct St, aka the hole and spent a little bit of time with Beauty.

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I was happy to see that Beauty had a very full crop.  She was very fidgety, turning now and then to keep an eye on the gulls as they flew by over the river.  I also noticed that Mercury’s face was covered in snow and ice was hanging off of it.  The sun had melted most of the snow off of the statue, but not all of it.  The sun was starting to sink lower in the sky, so it was time for me to head down to the lake for a quick look.  On the way down State St, I saw that there was a falcon on the southeast corner of the launchpad on the Kodak Tower and it looked like Dot.ca.  He sure does get around!

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As I was tweeting that he was up there, he took off.  Well, it was time for me to move on anyway.  I took the lake route home.  Took a look at Hawkeye, Charlotte/Summerville and Russell Station.  No falcons seen at any of these locations.

It was time to end my Watch and head home.  I hope that everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Goodnight!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It was a cold 19 degrees (F) -7 (C) but a clear,bright and sunny day with blue skies. We got 2-3 inches of new light fluffysnow overnight courtesy of Lake Ontario

I found Dot.Ca (DC) eating on the top ibeam southeast side of OCSR at 7am-I left to look for Beauty and when I returned she was up there with her mate.

<DC <Click it <Beauty

I stayed for a few minutes but I was antsy to get to the Brighton site and find Pigott since she hadn’t been seen since the nor’easter snow storm on Tuesday. Well let me just say I was very thankful on this Thanksgiving Day when I spotted her on the northeast extension. The sun looked like a fireball as it was rising in the eastern sky.

Pigott was on a south facing window 3 floors down and looking lovely in the bright sunshine as she preened and stretched.

Miss Pigott would stay up on that window for the next 40 minutes when she spotted a Kestrel fly in from the east. At exactly 8am she took off  chasing it away and returning to land on a snowy southeast corner of the southeast extension after aborting a landing on the northeast extension.

<Click it

20 minutes later she was off and landed on a south facing window ledge on the northeast extension top floor. In the northern sky beyond the Colgate Divinity School I noticed a large flock of starlings flying around-always an amazing thing to see.

I left her around 8:30am and returned downtown where I found Beauty and DC on the top ibeam southeast side only 2 windows apart from each other.

<Click it

I was all ready to leave when Beauty flew off followed by DC a few seconds later. I didn’t see where the Beautyful one went but DC came to rest on the Mercury money bag. I left my spot by the Radisson Hotel at Main St. and drove to the hole for a closer look. DC took flight after a couple minutes flying north.

<Beauty DC>

It was at this time I ended my watch around 8:50am. I’m very thankful for being able to share space with our Rochester Peregrine Falcons on this day that we should give thanks for all our blessings and for seeing all 3 of them today I must smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqi-u

http://youtu.be/rYRgCeOs_rI
http://youtu.be/LwMDz6kRRvk
http://youtu.be/qCl9rcQ5yiA
http://youtu.be/uVhlTfhB3kQ
http://youtu.be/WqhYxMYsO8o