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Rochester Falcon Watch – Labor Day Weekend – All 3 Adult Rochester Falcons Seen – 8/31, 9/1 & 9/2/13

Monday, September 2nd, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I was out quite a bit during the Labor Day Weekend and saw many  of my Watcher friends and all three adult Rochester Falcons.  Most of my Watches took place late morning/early afternoon.  The weather?  Hot and humid, but so worth being outside on these late summer days to see our falcons.  My report will be mostly pictures, because I figured you’d want to see what I saw this weekend.  Rochester Falcons and a  bit of Rochester itself.  🙂

Enjoy!  Oh, and be sure to click on any pics you would like to see larger.  Also, if you hover your cursor over a picture, you can read what it is.

Saturday & Sunday, 8/31 & 9/1/13

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I included a picture of the Hawkeye plant (above) because a juvie was seen there this weekend.

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I went in search of Beauty and Dot.ca.  I found Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).

Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower 8-31-13*

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Now where could Dot.ca be?  From the Broad St Bridge (BSB), I saw that the OCSR elevator was down.  It is usually at the top of the elevator shaft.  Hmmm.  I drove over to the Radisson and looked up inside the elevator shaft. Yep, there he was!  Both he and Beauty had found nice spots out of the sun.  Smart falcons!

OCSR - I Think I See a Falcon Up There 8-31-13Dot.ca Up Inside the OCSR Elevator Shaft 8-31-13*

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Now it was time to find Pigott at the BS location.  When I drove up to the building, I was happy to see her on one of the lower levels on the west side.

Hello Pigott at BS 8-31-13Pigott at BS 8-31-13Pigott Stretches 8-31-13*

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Pigott Wings Up! -31-13Pigott at BS 8-31-13*

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On Sunday, Dot.ca was hunting off of HSBC.

Dot.ca on HSBC 9-1-13Dot.ca Stoops off HSBC 9-1-13Dot.ca on HSBC 9-1-13*

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Monday, 9/2/13 – Labor Day

I started my watch today by checking out a lot of the areas around the city, looking for the juvie that was seen over the weekend.  No luck sorry to say.  But I did see Beauty, Dot.ca and Pigott, which was a very good thing.

The Hawkeye plant, where the juvie had been spotted, was taken over by a whole lot of Crows.  There has been a nest box on top of this building for a long time, but no falcons have shown interest in nesting there.  Probably too close to downtown.

Crows on the Hawkeye Plant Nest Box 9-2-13*

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Across from where I was parked to view the Hawkeye plant is Maplewood Park, where the flowers were still blooming.

Flowers at Maplewood Park 9-2-13

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My next stop was the pedestrian bridge.  No Falcons or Ospreys seen there.  This was my view of the Kodak Tower and the Genesee Brewery.

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I had totally forgot about the Labor Day parade.  Most of the roads were closed leading into downtown, so I ended up on the Andrews St Bridge.  I parked my car and grabbed my binocs and camera.  My intention was to walk up to Main St to look up into the elevator shaft and to watch the parade for a little while.  That didn’t happen.  Just as I crossed Andrews St, I heard ee-chupping and spotted two falcons.  Beauty was on the SE corner of the Federal Bldg and Dot.ca was flying above.  He flew towards the Frontier Communication Tower.

Beauty on the SE Corner of the Federal Bldg 9-2-13*

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Beauty took off and also headed towards the FCT.  I followed on foot.  Just as I arrived, I heard what I thought was a juvie vocalizing, but I could only see Beauty and Dot.ca.  I circled the whole tower in hopes of seeing a juvie.  It must have been Beauty and Dot.ca that I heard.

Beauty on FCT 9-2-13Dot.ca on FCT 9-2-13*

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The parade was ending and many of the participants passed me.

Labor Day Parade-9-2-13*

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My last stop was the BS location where I found Pigott on the Cubby ledge.  It’s a nice spot where she can keep out of the sun.  It was time for me to head home.

Pigott at BS 9-2-13*

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It had been such a beautiful Labor Day Weekend.  I hated to see it come to an end.

I’ll leave you with a few pics of the Charlotte area.  This is the mouth of the Genesee River where it flows into Lake Ontario.  It’s not Cape Cod June K, but I thought you might like to see it.

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Morning watch 9-2-13

Monday, September 2nd, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another gray and humid morning here in Rochester. I’m looking forward to a cold front coming thru bringing cooler and drier conditions this coming week. Todays starting temp at 6am was 67 (F) 19 (C)

Todays feature is the lack of something to feature! lol I found Beauty on the southeast corner of HSBC and spent about 5 minutes with her before she flew off to the southwest. That would be the last I saw of the Beautyful one on my watch.

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At 6:40am I spotted Dot.Ca (DC) on the top ibeam north corner of OCSR. I observed him from State St. for some of the time on the west side of the river.

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I took a ride across the Andrews St. Bridge stopping at the traffic light at St. Paul Street I took a pic of a cool painting on a building there. I guess this will be my feature today as it’s the only good photo out of the very few I have.

img_0011-cool-painting-on-a-building-at-st-paul-and-andrews-st Click on this to see the full version

From there I drove over to Bragdon St. on the east side by the Radisson Hotel. I took a walk across the Sister Cities pedestrian bridge and positioned myself below DC for a bit.

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I left DC to check near the Hawkeye plant for the juvie that’s been seen there. I did not find it so back downtown I went. DC was still on OCSR only he was a couple feet off the north corner top ibeam now.

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I had taken a trip around looking for Beauty but was unsuccessful so I left for the Brighton site.  Unfortunately Pigott wasn’t home and after searching downtown I didn’t find any Peregrines. And that’s all she wrote-I ended my watch at 9:40am. I saw Beauty and DC and that was enough for a  smile! 🙂

Morning watch 9-1-13

Sunday, September 1st, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The humidity continues as we had an overcast morning and a temperature of  69 (F)  21 (C) to start the day at 6am.

Beauty switched things up on me this morning as I didn’t find her on HSBC or anywhere else but I did find Dot.Ca (DC) after half hour on the  top ibeam south corner of OCSR. He had his back to me initially but I observed him from different spots including the hole (Aqueduct St.), Graves St. and at Main St. by the Radisson Hotel. The orange glow of the sun peeking thru the clouds for a brief few minutes gave him an amber look.

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After I switched locations, DC took off stooping  toward the river out of sight. I went looking and found him over on the east side perched on our tallest downtown building Xerox-southeast corner.

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DC didn’t let any moss grow under him there as he flew off like he was shot out of a rocket-I clicked the shutter on my camera when he left Xerox and barely got him in the shot before he went into a super fast stoop around 7:30am.

img_0025-dc-going-after-breakfast He sure does blend in-I almost didn’t notice him in this pic

10 minutes later I found DC back on his spot-top ibeam south corner of OCSR. As I crossed the Broad St. Bridge I saw the cherry picker by Blue Cross Arena-time to clean windows!  I parked below DC on Graves St. as he peeked out from the corner before moving just to the west of it.

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I left him after 20 minutes and went in search of the Beautyful one. Making my way over to the Frontier Communications Tower at 8am I pulled in the Hochstein School of Music parking lot as I spotted Beauty on the tower in the same spot as yesterday when she wouldn’t share breakfast with DC-south side beam in the lower white section. She just perched there looking around the area for 5 minutes then she seemed to spot something. I’m guessing DC, for she vocalized, took off and went directly to OCSR with MAK hot on her tail!

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Beauty went to the top ibeam west corner of OCSR while DC was still down the top ibeam at the south corner and shortly after he would fly out and go to the 2nd ibeam south corner.

img_0057-beauty<Beauty img_0065-dc<DC img_0066-bdcClick on to view full version

I thought this would be a good time to go check on Miss Pigott at the Brighton location. As I drove in the driveway I caught a glimpse of Pigott flying from the west to the cubby area so I stopped there on the west side where it’s located and saw her up on the front edge of the cubby at 8:23am. I grabbed my camera and then she walked into the cubby where she is hidden. I waited about 15 minutes and Pigott came to the forefront for me.

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She did some serious preening in the hour I shared space with her and did some awesome posing for me as well. Pigott is a very photogenic girl!

img_0093-now-let-me-see img_0102-shes-so-cute img_0104-pigott-posing-for-mak<Click it

I left her to it and returned to downtown finding Beauty to still be on the top ibeam west corner of OCSR but DC was gone.  She too did some cute poses for MAK!

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I ended my watch about 9:45am as I left Beauty and looked for DC unsuccessfully. I also took a ride down to the Hawkeye plant to see if the juvie from yesterday was around but I didn’t see it. It was a very tranquil Sunday morning watch as I saw all 3 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons, each with their own individual personalities to make me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos of our beloved falcons

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqikC

http://youtu.be/DC-6HaPKy7U
http://youtu.be/uh1trnu5wYA
http://youtu.be/lFpORZ3_22I
http://youtu.be/2X5FDQA-784
http://youtu.be/BRY4VC7b95s


Morning watch 8-31-13

Saturday, August 31st, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another soupy day from some very oppressive humidity. It was overcast and dark with a starting temp of 73 (F) 23 (C)

Darkness hung on a long time this morning making for some bad photos but in the darkness I found something bright as I arrived downtown around 6:10am on my way to the east side via the Court St. Bridge. The colored lights on the Rundell Library were still going  so I stopped to shoot a video before continuing on to look for Beauty. I found her on the southeast corner of HSBC .

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She was on the hunt as she stooped twice and returned to the same spot with nothing to show for her efforts. At 7am the Beautyful one flew off to the west above Xerox out of view. As I was looking for her from the Andrews St. bridge I spotted Dot.Ca (DC) on the top ibeam at the north corner of OCSR. I drove to State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel to observe.

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DC took off at 7:19am after a short stay on OCSR. As I stopped at the intersection of Church and Fitzhugh I noticed 2 falcons on the northeast corner of City Place. I got very excited-thinking juvie since that’s where our juvies hung out a lot. It was actually Beauty and DC.

img_0020-dc1<DC img_0021-yes-dear-i-have-food<Click on my pics for a full version

They flew off soon after I landed in the Hochstein parking lot to watch. Beauty had prey in her talons and DC wanted it-he tried to take it from her by flying under her and inverting himself which is classic food exchange form. Beauty thwarted his attempt and they both flew over to the  Frontier Communications Tower (FCT). Beauty landed on a south side beam in the lower white section and DC came to rest directly above her in the lower red section.

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Beauty began plucking feathers and eating while DC could only watch from above and let out a little whine now and then.

img_0044-aw-honey-please-share img_0042-hey-beauty-you-gonna-save-me-some DC-Hey save me some will ya?

img_0037-get-off-me1 img_0051-nom-nom1 Beauty- No way I’m hungry!

I looked up and couldn’t see DC-I didn’t know if he left or just moved in where I couldn’t see him but I decided to go to Brighton and look for Pigott around 7:45am. I found her easily as she was on the south side roof at the west end of the building. I shared space with Miss Pigott for about 10 minutes when she stooped to the southeast.

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I had somewhere to be so I ended my watch at that time but as it turned out my watch was extended because while driving across the Driving Park Bridge I spotted a falcon. Of course I had to investigate-I pulled over and put my hazard flashers on and started clicking away. It was a juvenile Peregrine Falcon and it was eating on the west side roof of the Kodak Hawkeye plant on St. Paul Blvd. Distance and darkness did not work in my favor in ID’ing it but I don’t think it was banded. I believe it was female judging by the size and quite dark.

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Several crows started harassing it and it was squawking at them before it flew off to the south onto a lower roof. The crows left it alone after that.

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The juvie really looked dark and I thought that if it was one of ours it had to be Rosetta but I couldn’t see any bands so I can only speculate. It walked to the south end of the roof it was on and I whipped down to the east end of the bridge where I thought I could get a close up pic and ID it. No such luck-I had time for one pic before it flew off after an Osprey to the south. It was 9:20am and now I really had to end my watch.

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I had noticed one particular window that stood out on the building and so I will end my report with a pic of it.

img_0107-smile Keep smiling! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and MANY videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqij8

http://youtu.be/noX28fmiVb8
http://youtu.be/gKpuqHwGfj0
http://youtu.be/wTK9J_qa4KE
http://youtu.be/ga04RYK0ixI
http://youtu.be/zKVjubPPZYA
http://youtu.be/KodqCHGOc2Y
http://youtu.be/kTpBAhJCPjI
http://youtu.be/Es0xTl2DyBo
http://youtu.be/CyCFk0cAqeA


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Morning watch 8-30-13

Friday, August 30th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon watcher MAK

A much better morning than the last couple days with clear skies,still humid and a temperature of 65 (F) 18 (C) to start

As I was making the rounds on the east side I spotted Beauty fly in from the east right above me and land on the northeast corner of HSBC and I thought she had a small package in her talons. I drove to Chestnut near Broad St. to observe as she just stood there crouched  for at least 20 minutes with her back to me. Finally the Beautyful one stood up and revealed her treasure then started plucking feathers.

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She ate some and then stood over it again for a few minutes before flying off to the northwest leaving the leftovers behind. I stopped on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) to check out the river for activity and found the usual-a Great Blue Heron hunting,ducks swimming and dunking their heads under the water and gulls flying every which way and hanging out in the shallows. And I had a ladybug on my windshield.

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After a few minutes I made my way over to the Andrews St. bridge where I spotted a falcon on the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT). I drove over to City Hall and found that it was Beauty on the northeast cube. She had her back to me from the parking lot so after a while I went to Church St. where I could see the front of her.

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Beauty did some preening and ever so softly whined from time to time. She also pulled out a few of her small white feathers as she is still molting and pooped. She moved toward the inner beams under the platform and it was at this point I left to check out the Brighton Site around 8:30am.

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No luck in Brighton-Pigott was nowhere to be found so back downtown I went. I spotted Beauty on the north side when I heard her call out. She soon started moving toward the west side where she ended up.

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Out of the corner of my eye I noticed movement on the other side of the tower. It was DC directly across from Beauty on the east side, both under the platform of the FCT. They could see each other if they wanted to but Beauty was napping and DC was busy preening.

img_0091-bdc <Click it      DC>img_0094-dc img_0098-dc img_0099-dc

I called it a watch and left them to it just past the 9 o’clock hour. I was happy to see DC up there sharing space with Beauty-made me smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to view more pics and videos

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqije

http://youtu.be/zoXNbOIPwys
http://youtu.be/uvUKvxAvT-M

http://youtu.be/75yY-tUQ9fs
http://youtu.be/ysfbqlEbi2s
http://youtu.be/dR8eqh4g5qg

Thursday Evening Falcon Watch – Dot.ca Takes on City Hall and Beauty on FCT! – 8/29/13

Thursday, August 29th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Just as I was approaching City Hall (6:45 pm), I heard Peregrine vocalizations filling the air.  I looked up in time to see a Falcon zip up to and land on the west side, south end of City Hall.  I quickly parked my car and looked up.  Just above me on top of the roof line was an adult Peregrine.  After getting some good looks thorough my binoculars, I verified that it was Dot.ca.  He spent a lot of time walking along the roof and looking down.  I had to wonder if he had been on a hunt and that his prey had escaped by landing on the ground nearby.  I looked around and could not see anything.

Dot.ca was vocalizing quite a bit and he was being answered by Beauty, who was about 1/2 way down the Frontier Communication Tower on the south side.  I love to hear them “chat” with each other.  lol

Here are a few of the pics I took of DC on City Hall.

DC Takes On City Hall 8-29-13DC Takes On City Hall 8-29-13DC Takes On City Hall 8-29-13*

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DC Takes On City Hall 8-29-13DC Takes On City Hall 8-29-13*

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Crows were coming through and landing on nearby buildings.  CAW CAW CAW! Dot.ca watched their every move, but did not give chase.  A bee was buzzing right in front of him and he was fascinated with it.  Finally about 7:15 pm, he took off heading northwest past the FCT, where Beauty remained.  It wasn’t long before Dot.ca returned and landed on the top arm of the FCT.  Now both B&DC where there. Larry O joined me at the Hochstein parking lot on the south side of the Frontier Comm Tower, with his dog Harold.

Beauty and Dot.ca on FCT 8-29-13Beauty on FCT 8-29-13*

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Just before 8:00 pm, first Beauty and then Dot.ca took off, heading SE towards downtown.  Once the Falcons had left, Harold decided it was time for he and Larry to leave too.

Harold Ready to Leave Beep! Beep! 8-29-13*

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Even though it was getting dark, I decided to drive around the downtown area before I ended my watch, hoping to find Beauty and DC before heading home.  I did not find Dot.ca, but I did find Beauty at one of her nighttime roosting spots.  She was on top of the Xerox Tower on the south side, 5th column in from the SE corner.

Beauty on Xerox South Side 8-29-13Beauty on Xerox South Side 8-29-13*

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It was time to end my evening Watch.  Happy to have seen both Beauty and Dot.ca.  Oh, and one more thing.  Larry O reported seeing Pigott eating out at the BS location at 4:30 pm.  Good night everyone!

Morning watch 8-29-13

Thursday, August 29th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another warm, humid start with a temperature of 63 (F) 17 (C) -it started out kinda clear but fog moved in and changed that.

I was on my way leaving the east side after not seeing Beauty on HSBC when I decided one more check around it was in order. It was a good call because I found the Beautyful one on the northwest corner with food. I parked on Chestnut St. to check her out.

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The air was so moisture laden that I had to keep my wipers going, and when I got back in my car I  had to turn on the defroster to clear the inside. Beauty had flown off without my seeing her and when I got to the Broad St. Bridge (BSB) the fog was quickly taking over at the surface more so than the building tops at first. As time went on everything was enveloped in fog and from the BSB at around 7am I couldn’t see anything beyond OCSR or Times Square. The jail tower was hard to see too.

img_0016-fog-moving-in-behind-times-square img_0018-foggy-jail-tower <Jail towerimg_0019-fog-moving-in-behind-ocsr Click on pics for full version

I took a ride and found Beauty on the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) just before the fog took it over. She was on the beam that crosses between the southeast and northeast cubes with her back to me. The fog took over quickly in a matter of 5 minutes as you can see in the next sequence of pics.

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Since Beauty had eaten I figured she would settle in to digest her meal so I decided to leave for the Brighton site (BS). I met up with DebbieH briefly before I left.  On the way down State St. I stopped and took a pic of OCSR which was looking quite eery. And as I crossed the Ford St. Bridge off Exchange Blvd. to Mt Hope Ave. I took a pic of the sun that was trying to burn thru the dense fog.

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Upon arriving at BS the fog had taken over there as well but I was able to spot a white chest on the west end of the south side vent. I thought this has to be Dot.Ca (DC) and as I scanned the rest of the vent I could barely make out the shape of a falcon on the east end who was Pigott.

img_0034-pigott-in-the-fog<Pigott img_0037-dc-in-the-fog<DC

They both slipped off when I wasn’t looking or maybe while I was watching and just couldn’t see them thru the fog.  At any rate shortly after I heard Pigott whining and then I saw her fly across the back of the building real low from west to east. I think she was looking for DC hence the whining. I checked around the building 3 times and determined that they had both left the premises. With that I ended my watch around 8:30am. Tho it was a dismal watch I still saw all 3 Rochester Peregrine Falcons and for that i had a little smile cross my face! 🙂

Click on the links below to view videos from my watch

http://youtu.be/_MjrOPq3FvY
http://youtu.be/LLBLIQvJgqg
http://youtu.be/3Ujm-YFfvtw

Wednesday Evening Falcon Watch – After Not Seeing Any Falcons For Two Nights; Finally a Falcon, Make that Two! – 8/28/13

Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

6:30 pm to 7:55 pm

It’s been getting harder and harder to spot any falcons on my evening Watches.  After not seeing any falcons for two day (well, I did hear one on Monday) I was happy to find Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT), just below the platform on the south side.  Finding a falcon there is very hard.  If you don’t get the right angle, you will not find them.  So, the Watchers have learned that they need to search the FCT from all directions. Today I was able to see Beauty from the Hochstein parking lot on the south side of the FCT.  She was tucked in just below the platform, in a small spot of sunlight.  Most of the framework below the platform was in shadow.  I set-up the scope to verify that it was indeed Beauty. (6:30 pm)

Beauty on FCT 8-28-13Beauty on FCT 8-28-13Beauty on FCT 8-28-13*

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Kathy O joined me and while we were chatting with Rob, who stopped by and was checking out Beauty through the scope, Kathy spotted Dot.ca who flew in and landed on the top arm of the FCT.  (7:14 pm)

Dot.ca on Top Arm of FCT 8-28-13Beauty and Dot.ca's Positions on the FCT 8-28-13*

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At approximately 7:30 pm, fellow Watcher Joyce tweeted that she was at the BS location and that Pigott was on a west extension windowsill completely across from the cubby.  So we had all three adult Rochester Falcons in view during the evening Watch.

Dot.ca stooped off of the FCT over City Hall.  He pulled up and continued flying east, flapping his wings rapidly.  He was on a mission.  Kathy and I lost sight of him when he flew over the river, still heading east. (7:40 pm)   There had been no vocalization by him or Beauty.  When Kathy and I ended our Watch at 7:45 pm, Beauty remained where she had been, under the platform dozing.

On my way home, I did a quick check of Kodak Park.  No falcons seen there.

I’ll leave you with a few pics I took last night.  One of the deer at the BS location and a couple of the Great Blue Herons I spotted on the river near the Broad St. Bridge.  Goodnight everyone!

REMEMBER TO CLICK ON ANY PICTURES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE LARGER

Deer at BS Location After Dark 8-27-13Great Blue Heron on Genesee River Near BSB 8-27-13Great Blue Heron on Genesee River Near BSB 8-27-13

Morning watch 8-28-13

Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

This mornings weather was pretty much like yesterday-humid,dark,overcast with the same temperature of 68 (F) 20 (C).  A little fog but not dense like yesterday.

I found Beauty on the southeast corner of HSBC in hunt mode for sure. She stooped to the east and flew back to the same spot then 5 minutes later she stooped to the southeast as I was watching from Chestnut St. in front of Manhattan Square Park. Then from right below her on Court St.

img_0002-beauty2 img_0008-beauty3

The Beautyful one returned and switched to the front of HSBC on the railing of the southwest corner.  Soon after taking off to the southeast again.

img_0015-beauty1Take off sequence> img_0017-beauty-takes-off img_0018-downswing img_0019-on-her-way

Beauty came back and landed on the railing of the southeast corner. She stayed there for the next 15 minutes and just before 7am she flew northeast and that would be the last I saw of her on my watch.

img_0022-im-all-shook-up

As I faced the east I couldn’t help but notice the fantastic sunrise happening before me.

img_0023-sun-up Don’t forget to click on my pics for the full version

15 minutes later as I searched for Beauty I spotted a falcon on the north corner top ibeam of OCSR from the Andrews St. Bridge. I was very excited since this is a favorite spot of Dot.Ca (DC) and I haven’t seen him in 2 or 3 days. I drove to Bragdon St. for a closer view so I could ID him. He didn’t give me much time as I got one pic before he was off to the northeast. I could barely make out the heart shape on the side of his face but the white chest confirmed it for me.

img_0030-dc3 img_0031-dc-is-off

Due to poor light conditions today, my pics are not very clear. After a trip around downtown with no sign of a PEFA I left for the Brighton Site (BS). Pigott was on the west end of the south side vent all scrunched down and poofed out.

img_0033-pigott img_0034-pigott

Miss Pigott started preening and at one point seemed like she would take off but she faked me out and went back to preening.

img_0037-preening-pigott img_0038-pigott img_0041-i-thought-she-was-taking-off<Click it for the fake out

I shared space with her for the next half hour and then she flew off for real heading east and she didn’t return.

img_0044-hey-pretty-girl img_0047-there-she-goes

I waited a bit before heading back downtown. I did a search of the city but couldn’t find any falcons so I ended my watch at 8:45am. I saw all 3 current resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons on my watch this morning so I had good reason to smile as I headed out! 🙂

Just one video link below for you to click and view today

http://youtu.be/dsEHsQlQQd8

Morning watch 8-27-13

Tuesday, August 27th, 2013

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Talk about being in the soup-the humidity today is thick enough to cut it and it created some dense fog on the building tops making it hard to find falcons in the second half of my watch. The beginning temperature when I arrived downtown at 6am was 68 (F) 20 (C)

My routine since the juvies fledged was to check the frontier Communications Tower and Kodak Office first but I have changed that just like Beauty and Dot.Ca (DC) have changed their routine since the kids left. I now start on the Broad St. Bridge (BSB)and work my way to the east where lately I have found the Beautyful one on HSBC and today was no exception as I found her on the east side of it.

img_0001-beauty

Beauty flew off before I could stop and I next found her on the southeast corner of HSBC. There were crows in Manhattan Square Park (I was parked in front of it on Chestnut St.) sounding off and I also heard a cardinal chirping and so hoped it stayed out of Beautys’ sights. It did and Beauty took off fast after 10 minutes to the southeast in break neck speed and I lost her behind the trees quickly.

img_0007-beauty img_0008-beauty-leaves-in-a-blur

I drove down to Woodbury St. near Washington Square Park where I found Beauty on the southwest corner of Xerox. The fog hadn’t dropped down on our fair city yet. She stayed about 5 minutes then flew out above Bausch & Lomb and doubled back flyimg behind Xerox where I lost sight of her.

img_0018-beauty1 img_0017-beauty img_0020-beauty

As I went to find her I stopped on the BSB and found a Great Blue Heron down in the river who had a very large fish in its mouth and trying to swallow. At first I thought it was drinking as it had its beak in the water but then I saw that it had a fish. He would try to swallow  then put it down in the water again repeating this several times until he eventually got it down. You can see the big bulge in the top of  its neck after he swallowed the fish. BIG GULP!

img_0021-gbh-with-fish-in-mouth img_0024-gbh-swallows-big-fish-making-for-a-big-bulge-in-neck

I left at 7am when I noticed Beauty up on the  top ibeam west corner of OCSR  and headed to State St. to view her. I pulled over took a pic then tweeted it out and when I looked back up she was gone!

img_0026-beauty2

This is when the fog started to quickly take over the tops of the buildings in our fair city so I decided to go to the Brighton site (BS) in hopes to find not only Pigott but DC as well-he wasn’t seen yesterday.

img_0028-east-side-fog Click on it to see the full version

As I made my way past the west side at BS to the back (south) side of the building I spotted a falcon on the roof of the west extension and it flew off and around to the east side out of view before I had the car in park. I waited a bit before driving around to look. I thought it looked small and thought maybe DC but never found him. I did however find Miss Pigott on the east side 2 windows down below the roof top tree. She was soaked just like yesterday!

img_0029-look-at-that-wet-noodle-pigott img_0034-pigott-on-the-move img_0031-pigott img_0036-the-wet-look

And just like yesterday she was on the run going back and forth along the window ledge a few times before settling where she started from. I sooo love watching Peregrines walk and run-it’s funny as all get out!

img_0039-going-for-a-jog img_0042-on-the-run img_0043-shes-a-busy-one

I shared space with Miss Pigott for an hour or so then headed back downtown. The fog had gotten worse while I was gone so if Beauty or DC were up on the building tops I couldn’t see them.

img_0045-east-side-fog<East side img_0046-kodak-office<Kodak Office

I called it a watch and headed home at 8:50am with a smile for having seen our 2 female resident Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to view videos from my watch

http://youtu.be/KwsWpKQnk_w
http://youtu.be/OQbmY1jPuJw
http://youtu.be/QqHkcqaoNjw
http://youtu.be/PN7Wnu-Xgk8


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