By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It took me about half an hour to find a falcon this morning as I made my way back to the Broad St. Bridge from a ride around the city. I found Dot.Ca(DC) under the northeast wing of the Times Square Building(TSB).

He left 20 minutes later and 20 minutes after that Beauty showed up landing on the deck by the nest box.

Click pic to see DC fly off the back Beauty

15 minutes later Beauty flew off very fast over the river kakking the whole way.

20 minutes later DC showed up under the southwest wing of TSB with a prey item and then Beauty flew in to land under the southeast wing to watch him as he prepared it for consumption.

DC was not wanting to share his treasure with Beauty which I find interesting since when he is at BS with prey he takes it right to Pigott. When downtown he seems to take prey from Beauty instead of giving it to her. Perhaps because Pigott is younger than him and Beauty is older-hard to figure him out sometimes. lol Anyway, DC left with his prey and Beauty went to her nest box about 15 minutes later. Shaky came by on his way to jury duty and after he left DC returned empty taloned landing under the southeast wing for a few seconds and then took off again. A few minutes later I found him on OCSR 2nd ibeam southeast side with prey and then Beauty flew over to join him coming to rest about 10 feet away.

Click this pic for full version

He picked at it for a few minutes then flew to the TSB with it landing under the northwest wing and Beauty followed and landed there as well.

Click them for full version

DC teased Beauty for 5 more minutes with what was left of his food then he flew off to the east followed by the Beautyful one a minute later. I found him 30 minutes later on OCSR top ibeam by the north corner and a minute later Beauty flew in and landed below him on the 2nd ibeam and she was nibbling on something.

Just remember to click all pics for the full version

Beauty flew over to the Frontier Communications Tower platform and either finished eating or cached what she had for she wasn’t there for long before she returned to OCSR and landed about 25 feet away from DC on the top ibeam northeast side.

Click it

She was whining with her back to him-falcon games  you gotta love them! lol I left them and went to the Brighton sight and KP but I didn’t find a falcon at either sight. So after seeing our resident downtown pairing of Beauty and Dot.Ca on a gorgeous fall morning I had more than enough reason to smile! 🙂

Click the links below for more pics and videos

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http://youtu.be/iSvMswoAR4o
http://youtu.be/O8tzdTX4FEw
http://youtu.be/tLrBxxyMUD0
http://youtu.be/S86gsx1WCeM
http://youtu.be/5bTy7yp9_o8

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

What a Beautyful and breezy morning I had with sunshine and blue skies-perfect for falcon watching. I found Beauty on the top ibeam northeast side of OCSR. I shared space with her for 3 hours from below the OCSR, next to the Radisson Hotel and over by the Rochester Convention Center. She watched pigeons fly up and down the river,preened,pooped and napped.

At about 9:00am Dot.Ca showed up under the northeast wing and half hour later he flew off and landed under the southeast wing.

Beauty flew over my head to the east and DC followed behind her out of my view. A minute later Beauty was on the base of Mercury and 10 minutes after that DC landed there as well. There was a little echupping and a bow or two and then they both took off heading east above me once again and out of my sight.

Click for the full version

5 minutes later Beauty was on OCSR again top ibeam northeast side. A woman from Florida named Gina stopped to ask me what I was taking pics of ,so I showed her Beauty on my camera screen and she flipped out saying her husband would love this since he was a bird watcher. I told her the history of our falcons, handed her a rfalconcam business card and off she went to tell her husband as he was eating breakfast in the Radisson Hotel. Beauty flew off to the east one more time only to return some 40 minutes later.

I decided to go to the Brighton sight and look for Miss Pigott. As I stopped in the back of the building and started searching window ledges I found the very grown up Pigott on a southeast corner window.

In the 40 minutes that I stayed with her she didn’t move a whole lot and I figured since she had a full crop she wasn’t going to do much. I had to get going but I left smiling for having seen 3 falcons on my watch! 🙂

Click the links below for pics and videos of all 3 falcons

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http://youtu.be/TaQEHCX0uKw
http://youtu.be/4SZO5yagoT0
http://youtu.be/S–CBKylP9A

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The morning started out peaceful as I checked from the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) and saw no falcons. I then checked the east side finding nothing other than the crows leaving their night time roost from the trees of Washington Square Park. Next I went to the Andrews St. bridge(ASB) to check the north end of the downtown area with no sightings. As I was pulling away I got a report from Donna saying Beauty was at the nest box, so I zoomed down State St. to find Dot.Ca(DC) under the northeast wing.

I parked by He’s Chinese to watch but I couldn’t see Beauty. After a few minutes I decided to walk up on the BSB to see Beauty but as I turned around to look back at the Times Square building(TSB) DC took off and so I followed him. Over the river he flew fast and then the next thing I saw was 3 falcons over the Xerox tower. DC seemed to stay away from the other two who were duking it out over Midtown and Bausch&Lomb locking talons several times and then backing off each time. They kept disappearing behind Xerox,B&L and Midtown only to come back into view chasing and dive bombing each other as DC flew back to the TSB and landed under the northeast wing. I saw one circling above Xerox and then it flew east out of view. I waited to see if they returned to my field of view from the BSB but they did not so I went back down to He’s to keep an eye on DC and the nest box.

This is when Larry came to help with the watch. He went up to the BSB and I took a ride over to the east side parking by Manhattan Square Park I saw Beauty hovering above Xerox and so did Larry while DC remained on TSB. Larry reported that she flew north so I went to check the north side of OCSR from Bragdon St. by the Radisson Hotel. I found Beauty on the top ibeam northeast side and she seemed to be ok to me.

Sure wish I could have seen the falcon Beauty was battling closer so as to ID it but no such luck. I wonder if it was the same one that CarolP saw last night on her watch when she said 2 pefas were having an argument. And I have to wonder if it was Pigott or even KPF that are trying to give Beauty a run for her territory. UGH! I hope the whole winter isn’t going to be like this for my blood pressure already runs high enough! lol  I returned to BSB and as Larry was getting ready to leave DC flew off TSB.

Larry left and I went to the ASB to keep an eye on Beauty. Soon after I arrived she took off and then I saw a falcon fly up to and land under the northeast wing. I then high tailed it over to the TSB where I found Beauty under the southeast wing and DC under the northeast wing of the TSB.

I worked my way from He’s Chinese up to Falcon Watcher Central to observe them. They both flew off and circled above the Philipone building with DC returning to the northeast wing and Beauty to the ledge right above the nest box for a minute or so. They both flew off again circling above the Philipone building with Beauty landing next to the main cam and DC once again going to the wing.

B DC B

This is where I left them as I had to get going. I was not excited in a good way to see a battle this morning on my watch but I did leave downtown smiling knowing that our resident pair were ok! 🙂

Click the links below for pics and videos

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http://youtu.be/P6qhIELxO6E
http://youtu.be/McvKGcOzRrU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I didn’t find Beauty until almost an hour into my watch after checking around the city 2 or 3 times. I came up on the Broad St. bridge from the east side and saw her immediately on the south corner top ibeam of  OCSR. I went down to the hole to park and then walked over to Aqueduct Park to be closer to the Beautyful one.

I spent about 20 minutes with her before she flew off to the northeast after a flock of pigeons. They were over Andrews Place apartments by St. Paul and Andrews St. and then I lost them. Usually when falcons take off they tend to drop off their perch and then gain altitude. Beauty flew up when she took off OCSR and so the take off shot is mainly her shadow on the glass and at the very top of the pic you can see her tail feathers.

I walked back to the car and drove to the east side hoping I’d find her on HSBC. As I was stopped at the traffic light at Clinton and Court St. I spotted Beauty up on the southwest corner on the railing of HSBC. I had time for one pic after I pulled over by Manhattan Square Park as she flew off to the west chasing 2 pigeons toward the river.

Back to the Broad St. bridge I was able to  make out a falcon on the jail tower on the north side just above the dish. I drove over to the Court St. bridge for a closer look and was able to determine it was Beauty.

Remember how I said their routine changes after a few days in one of my previous reports? Well, after finding her on the north side of OCSR the last couple days first thing in the morning, today she was on the move and didn’t go to that north side at all. Hence a new routine. It was time to wrap it up so I said goodbye to Beauty and drove up to Broad St. to take a quick pic of the window washers at Thomson Reuters before heading out.

A couple hours of chasing Beauty around the city is my idea of a good watch and more than enough reason to smile! 🙂

Click the links below for a couple videos

http://youtu.be/9BF2c8yUm54
http://youtu.be/V_zalh8mQNw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

So the latest routine for Beauty is hanging out on the north side of OCSR most of the day. Today was more of the same as I found her there on the top ibeam at the north corner just like yesterday morning.

The rising sun shone on her a while later and made her look white in the front.

My camera had a hard time focusing on this bright spot on OCSR. lol Beauty flew off when I wasn’t looking so after checking around downtown without finding her or Dot.Ca(DC) I went to the Brighton site. As I was driving I watched a pefa fly off the roof on the west side from right above the cubby. It flew southwest out of sight. I waited for a little while to see if it would return with no luck. I then checked KP to no avail as well before going to run some errands. I returned to our fair city and found Beauty on the top ibeam northeast side with her mate DC at the north corner of the 2nd ibeam.

Yesterday Lisa and I noticed a painting on the west side wall of the Andrews building at the corner of Andrews St. and St. Paul St. Today there was a man and a woman in cherry pickers working on the details. The woman on the right used a paint roller to spell out the words “will power”. Very artistic and I like it!

click pic for full version

While the Beautyful one and DC were not doing anything exciting I took some pics of the Sister Cities pedestrian bridge. It crosses the Genesee river by the Radisson Hotel to the OCSR building on the other side. On the east (Radisson) side there is one entrance and when you get to the middle of the bridge it veers off to the left and right so that you have 2 exits on the west side(OCSR side). In other words it’s Y shaped.

This pic taken from the west side lower walkway

There are two sets of stairs on the west side that go from the lower walkway to the upper and they make me think of the Rocky movie where he runs up the stairs.

I ended my watch just before noon leaving our content pair of Peregrines on OCSR. It was a breezy,sunny  morning which made me smile as I put all the windows down on Angel Car and drove off!  🙂

2 links below to click on for your viewing pleasure

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http://youtu.be/bzH6F-m8l04

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a cold 35 degrees fahrenheit when I left my house this morning and I was very thankful for AC(Angel Car). I arrived on the Broad St. bridge(BSB) about 7:15am and could find no falcons in that area or on the east side near Xerox and HSBC. I took a ride over to the Andrews St. bridge where you can see the north side of OCSR the best and it was there that I found Beauty on the top ibeam at the north corner.

I then drove over to Bragdon St. next to the Radisson Hotel and where the pedestrian bridge crosses the river to the OCSR for closer viewing. I watched the Beautyful one for about an hour from the pedestrian bridge and from below the OCSR on the river walkway. While there, a woman came by and dumped a bag full of Tortilla chips in the middle of the bridge for the gulls and pigeons. She had obviously done this before cuz they all flew in and lined when they saw her coming.

The sunshine was abundant today unlike the last few dark dreary overcast mornings which helped to keep me warm except for my fingers. Even with gloves on they always get cold and numb so I ended up going back over to the Andrews St. bridge to watch in a warm car. While there, Lisa McK who met me yesterday morning when she was out on her Lights out watch for dead migratory birds that have fallen victim to slamming into buildings because the light drew them to it came by to join me. We watched Beauty and chatted for a bit. She showed me a couple pics of a bat she found clinging to the base of the Xerox building and then I dropped her off by the South Ave. garage where her car was parked before heading over to the Brighton site to look for falcons. I didn’t find any but I saw a lot of pretty fall colors on the trees in Mt. Hope Cemetary and along the river on Exchange  Blvd. by Cornhill so I took some pics.

Upon returning to the Andrews St. bridge over an hour later I found Beauty still there just to the west of the north corner on OCSR top ibeam and now she had company on the top ibeam on the northeast side. Dot.ca(DC) had arrived while I was gone and was up there preening away.

I drove over to the hole and parked AC and then walked over to the walkway by the OCSR to have some more closer viewing. Beauty had her back to me and was napping for the most part with DC preening,stretching and looking around at his territory.

B DC

I also took some pics from the pedestrian bridge to show my view of the area from there. The air was warming up nicely, the sun was shining and I had Beauty and DC in my sights. As I ended my watch to meet an old friend for coffee I thought what more could a girl ask for to make her smile! 🙂

Click the links below for more pics and a few videos

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http://youtu.be/gXZF7TN3qNQ
http://youtu.be/8MtKeTrS0hs
http://youtu.be/PLHUO4NpjTw
http://youtu.be/_L1tvD7BZls
http://youtu.be/K0vv8j9kILM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Just when I think Beauty and Dot.Ca  have a regular routine they change it up on me. Not only changing it but DC was not even in the picture this morning.

After checking the entire downtown scene with no pefas to be found I took a ride to Brighton. Nothing there either! When I returned to the Broad St. bridge I noticed a familiar figure on the top ibeam of OCSR at the south corner. It was the Beautyful one!

The sky kept spitting light rain showers on and off during my watch with a dismal dreary backdrop of dark skies. Donna told me that pan cam was on the Thomson Reuters building showing the pretty fall colors of the ivy that grows on it. I just happened to be in the hole at the time and so I took a pic of it. I also took a couple pics of the trees and ivy behind the Blue Cross Arena just to brighten up this report.

Lisa McK stopped by as she was out looking for dead birds below tall buildings in an effort to get owners to turn their lights out at night or at the very least close blinds so that migratory birds don’t fly into windows drawn by the light. It’s an Audubon effort locally and nationally.

We chatted while we kept track of Beauty up on the OCSR building. She was preening and napping and she ended up turning around showing her back when it started to rain.

Beauty got settled in as Lisa left. I stayed a short time longer and then I ended my watch leaving Beauty in the rain.  No DC this morning but Beauty turned up to put a smile on my face! 🙂

One video at the link below of Beauty in the rain preening

http://youtu.be/mSNPiQylzZk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A little different start to my watch today as I was driving down Broad St. from the west I could see Dot.Ca(DC) under the northeast wing. Then as I was stopped at the traffic light at Broad and Fitzhugh I watched Beauty fly in from the east and go to the Times Square building (TSB). Of course at the time I didn’t know who was who until I got a text from Donna who said that Beauty was at the nest box. Thanks for your much appreciated help Miss D!

I first parked on the Broad St. bridge(BSB) to observe our downtown pair and as 8:00am approached (you have to pay for parking from 8-6 Monday-Friday) I left to park down in the hole for free. As I was turning off  Broad St DebbieH was crossing Exchange St. to join me before going to work. Almost as soon as we got situated between the Thomson Reuters parking lot and the Phillipone building (the hole) DC flew off the TSB chasing a bird. He flew right above us and almost got it by the Thomson Reuters building(TRB) before going back to the TSB. The Kestrel which looked like a juvie due to the white down feathers it was sporting, landed on the lower rear roof of the Phillipone building briefly looking a bit dazed.

It then flew to the safety of a tree in Aqueduct Park and Deb had to leave for work. Beauty had left the nest box unbeknownst to me and DC made a few attempts at other small birds flying in his Times Square area.  His head was on a swivel making my neck hurt just looking at him. lol

DC met up with Beauty over the river and had a nice flight together riding the swift winds that were blowing in dark and gloomy downtown Rochester this morning. They returned to the TSB as he went under the northeast wing and she went back to her nest box. This has been their routine for a few days now doing their falcon duties of him watching the territory and her guarding the nest. DC flew after a bird behind the Telesca building and returned empty taloned to the base of the northeast wing where he tried in vain to bring up a pellet and did some preening. No doubt he wanted to lighten his load so he could be that much faster to hunt.

DC left around 9:40am and Beauty was also gone from the nest box so I took a ride over to Brighton to try and catch Miss Pigott at home. No such luck! I’d really love to know where that little girl has been wandering off to lately.  I went back downtown and from the Andrews St. Bridge I found the Beautyful one on the top ibeam of OCSR northeast side.

Beauty was checking out some pigeons that were flying back and forth across the river. I left her to it as I ended my watch. Keep smiling! 🙂

Videos can be seen at the links below

http://youtu.be/hY650LS7SgE
http://youtu.be/KhxcwpAffNM
http://youtu.be/wyxFEMVWuxA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I write this report with a very heavy heart in honor of the life of S2 as news of her death from the DeMortel site in the Netherlands has been realized. I was  a lurker when S2 first became famous for taking over the care of  eyasses that were not hers. It touched my heart to say the least and when I heard of the news that she had been shot last year, of course I kept track of her handling and recovery. She was on the last legs of her rehab and with a falconer to finish preparing for her release in the weeks to come. S2 died this past Friday from fly infestation-maggots eating away at her from inside. This is devastating to everyone who loved her and we must remember that she was given the best of care and the shooter is the only one to blame for her death. Fly free, brave and strong S2 we will never forget you!

I borrowed this pic of S2 from the BCAW site

I was going to take the day off from falcon watching and when I heard this sad news, well I just had to go check and see if our own Rochester falcons were ok. As I arrived on the Broad St. bridge I spotted a falcon under the northeast wing. It had its back to me and I had a hard time deciding who it was until I got home to check the pics on my computer screen. It was Dot.Ca and he was doing some serious preening up there while I watched.

I decided to take a ride over to the Brighton site to look but there was no falcons in sight over there. I returned to downtown after hearing that Beauty was at the nest box from Donna. Thanks D!  Beauty was still there when I returned and DC was under the northeast wing.

I shared space with them for a half hour or so as it gave me some relief from the grief I feel over S2. During my short watch both Beauty and DC seemed to look me in the eye as if to say we’re here for ya.

I will end my report here knowing that nature can be tragic but it can also make you smile! 🙂

1 video of our Times Square pair at the link below

http://youtu.be/GRZTXL30P6s

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Today I was so excited to meet Barb from LA.  After speaking to her yesterday evening, we decided to meet on the Broad St Bridge at 11 am this morning.  I quickly got an email out to all the Watchers to let them know.  We do love when we receive a visitor.  🙂

Many Watchers were on hand (MAK, Larry O, Lisa McK, Shaky, Jeanne, Joyce, Kathy O, Judy and her brother from South Carolina, and myself) to greet Barb and her brother Rich this morning.  Beauty and Dot.ca were also in attendance the whole time Barb was there.  She was thrilled to see both in person and to see all the Falcon Watch Landmarks that are mentioned in our reports.  Shaky even turned Pan Cam (Cam #1) towards us to show the virtual watchers.

The weather could not have been nicer.  Blue sky and sunshine.  A beautiful morning.

During our visit, another forum member, a friend of Barb’s, called to let us know that we were on camera.  It was was very nice speaking to you Florida Donna!  I really hope that you will be able to visit some time soon!

Here are some pictures I took during Barb’s visit:

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Here are a few pics captured by Pancam aka Camera #1 thanks to Shaky!

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Beauty and Dot.ca were kind enough to be around for Barb’s visit.  lol 🙂

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When Barb and her brother had to leave us, we all said our goodbyes.  I really do love when we get visitors and always get a little sad when they leave.

Safe trip home Barb!  Good luck watching your own Miracle Mile falcons.  Some day I’d love to visit and see them for myself!  It was also nice meeting you Rich.  I’ll make sure to say hi if  I see you when I’m over on the Andrews St Bridge near the federal building.

After everyone left, I decided to check on KPF again, for the 2nd time today.  No luck finding her either time.

Joyce went over to the BS location and had no luck finding Pigott there.

My next stop was Charlotte to see if I could spot the juvie falcon I had seen there last weekend.  I sat in the parking lot for about 45 mins and did not see any falcons.  Dana and Lou joined me for awhile.  While they were there, we saw a young Bald Eagle fly over the river towards the east side.  So that was exciting!  While I was there this Mockingbird serenaded me from a nearby pine tree.  Loved every minute of it!

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Clouds were moving in, so I decided to call it a day.  On my way home it started to rain, I spotted a familiar shape on a tall antenna on Long Pond Rd, in Greece.  I quickly pulled into a store across the street and took a quick picture before taking a better look with my binoculars.  Yes!  I am pretty sure it was a small sized juvie Peregrine Falcon.  Before I could get any other pictures, the falcon took off heading SE!  Darn!  The one picture I snapped would have to do.  But I will definitely be keeping my eyes to the sky looking for this young falcon!  Here is the picture I took plus a cropped version.

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REMEMBER TO CLICK ON ANY OF THE PICTURES FOR A LARGER VERSION.