By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As I started walking up the Broad St. Bridge(BSB) and got Dan in my sights I noticed the familiar flap of a Peregrine Falcon flying overhead from the east. I yelled to Dan and he grabbed his binocs as did I to watch the Beautyful one fly to the Times Square building(TSB). She came to rest on the southeast column that is one level above where Callidora and Orion took their first flights.

Larry drove up right after and found a falcon on the Frontier Communications Tower(FCT). It was most likely Orion on FCT. Larry O’Heron sure likes finding  herons of any kind  down in the river and every day he looks for them. It may have something to do with his last name! lol This year we have Great Blues,Black-Crowned Night herons and little Green Herons. They are great entertainment during the quiet times of our morning watches together as they hunt and fly in the river below.This pic is for you Larry!

Around 7:00am Beauty flew to the base of Mercury, touched down briefly and flew off to the east where we lost her behind Xerox. Dan and Larry had to leave so I decided to walk east to HSBC to see if Beauty was there. She has always liked hunting off HSBC first thing in the morning and Archer used to join her too. Miss that little guy with his white feather! <3  I ran into DebbieH as she was walking to work from the South Ave. garage where she parks. As soon as HSBC came into view I could see Beauty up on the southwest corner. A Beautyful sight for sure with the sun coming up behind her.

She didn’t stay too much longer before she flew off headed west. In turn I headed back to the BSB to find where she went. I didn’t see any when I got there so I went up to the top of the South Ave. garage. I could see pretty much every tower and building that the falcons perch on from up there. 10 minutes after I perched myself on the 8th floor of the ramp garage Beauty came in and perched herself on the heel of Mercury.

She then went over to the calf,then back to the heel,back to the calf and finally back to the heel where she stayed put until she left Mercury.

Around 9:30am the Beautyful one took off flying west out of view. A few minutes later I got a text from Donna saying Patsy(Pat who works in Thomson Reuters) could see a falcon on OCSR so I departed the garage to go have a look see. I couldn’t see the west corner from up there so I would need to go down to the BSB. I saw the falcon on the 2nd ibeam west corner and so I went down to the hole for a closer look to ID tho I was pretty sure it was Beauty cuz that’s one of her perching spots. As I started down to Aqueduct St. I spotted something on the southwest column of the TSB. It looked like a pigeon wing sticking up with a possible falcon behind it. I saw a few feathers floating above it as well. I thought perhaps Orion was eating up there but never did get a positive clear pic to prove it no matter where I walked to for different angles.

An hour passed when Beauty disappeared from her spot on OCSR. I didn’t know if she flew off or just went around the corner to the  shaded north side. I ended my watch at this point and walked to my bus stop smiling on the way for having spent the morning with my favorite falcon Beauty! 🙂

Links for my photo album and videos are below-you know what to do

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrG9g

http://youtu.be/eAmUTi9_7CY

http://youtu.be/B7cZjQO8U4o

http://youtu.be/ZqI-M2H485E

http://youtu.be/40e3c1UuwjE

http://youtu.be/IsHnJVhH3ss

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My work day ended and my Falcon Watch began!  Woohoo!  I arrived downtown a little before 4:00 pm.  Took my normal route, which took me by Kodak Office (KO) and the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) first.  Nothing at either.  I decided to head directly to the Broad St Bridge (BSB) after that.  After parking and facing directly into the sun (facing west), I first spotted a falcon on the top IBeam of the south side of the OCSR.  This falcon had his back to me, so I wasn’t sure who it was.  I next searched the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  Hard to see, but finally I saw that there was a falcon at the base of the NE wing and this was definitely Beauty.  I looked back at the OCSR and saw that this falcon was gone.  Well, darn.  I am really not sure if this was Orion or Dot.ca.  I would see neither during the remainder of my Watch.  This evening, it was all about Beauty.

Beauty remained on the TSB, while I checked out the FCT again and the downtown area.  I was not able to find another falcon.  So, back to the TSB and the continuation of my Beauty Watch.

I decided to park down on Aqueduct St and to walk around the area.  I was over at Falcon Central (the bottom of the stairs from Broad St), when at 6:00 pm, Beauty decided that it was time to stretch and she threw her wings into the air and she was off!  Beauty stooped over the Thompson Reuters bldg and over the river (heading east).  I lost sight of her when she passed over the bldg.  I walked up to the Broad St Bridge, but was too late to see where she ended up.  Back to my car.

It was time for me to check out the downtown area again.  I met up with my Watcher friend Kathy O over at the Geva Theater parking lot and we found Beauty up at the top of the Xerox Bldg on the south side, 5th column in from the NE corner.  This was a favorite spot for her.  A nightly roosting spot in the off-season.  Kathy and I chatted while we kept watch on Beauty, that is until she decided to take off yet again.

At 6:45 pm, Beauty took off, flew around the downtown area for a bit and then headed west, back towards the TSB.  We headed that way too.  The game was afoot!  lol

From the Broad St Bridge, we could see Beauty in Archer’s Nook.  You ask, where is Archer’s Nook and why do I call it that?  That particular spot was a favorite of our dear Archer.  He sat there many times while Jemison and Callidora were readying to fledge, just out of sight of his young ones.  After they left, he would still go there.  Now Beauty has taken to going to Archer’s Nook.  I love seeing her there.  It brings back good memories of Archer.  🙂

So, it was 7:00 pm, and it was time for me to go.  Larry O had arrived and took over the evening watch.  I went home happy that I had spent time with Beauty.  I wondered if Dot.ca had taken Orion out for a lesson, giving Beauty a little bit of time off from her young son.  He is quite the “talon-full”!  Tomorrow, I will return downtown and I will keep my eyes to the sky as always with my fellow Watcher friends, in hope of catching a glimpse of Orion’s continued lessons.

Here is my Shutterfly Album with a few pictures from tonite.  No sign on needed.  Enjoy!

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By Rochester Falcon watcher MAK

Having a vehicle at my disposal for todays watch I had high hopes of finding Pigott over at the Brighton site(BS) so I could get some pics and video to share. It wouldn’t happen for after checking BS twice I had absolutely no sightings of her or Dot.Ca(DC). I was however able to join Dan on the Broad Street Bridge(BSB) at daybreak like I used to do every morning. At about 6:35am Orion provided us with the first view of a Peregrine Falcon by flying in from the east. He mini stooped on a gull as he made his way across the mighty Genesee River and then flew to the Times Square building(TSB) landing on the southeast column above where he took his first flight.

Larry arrived and half hour later Orion took off from the TSB to meet Beauty who was flying in from the east. They flew down river to the north and vanished behind the Radisson and reappeared a minute later. Beauty had a prey item in her talons and Orion on her tail feathers singing for breakfast. Like yesterday morning they both landed on the base of Mercury where Orion tried to be patient waiting for her to dress down her package.

After Dan and Larry left I moved down to the hole where the sun made everything look silhouetted. Orion was having a word with mom obviously saying he was HUNGRY!

Orion flew off toward the river so I went up the stairs at Falcon Watcher Central to the  BSB in time to see him scaring up shore birds in the river and then he returned to Mercury.  DebbieH stopped by on her way to work and right after she left so did Beauty leaving what was left of her meal for Orion. Just as his mom had done, he began pulling feathers before starting to finish it up devouring this tasty treat!

Beauty Orion

When Orion was finished he took off to the east out of sight. I checked around the usual places and couldn’t find anyone and that’s when I went to BS for the first time without finding Pigott or DC. I had to go take care of some business but I returned some 3 hours later and still could find no pefas at BS. I then drove downtown and finally found Beauty on OCSR top ibeam on the northeast side in the shade. I stayed about half hour and then it was time to return the vehicle I was driving. Having ended my watch with Beauty in my sights was a good reason to leave smiling! 🙂

Click the links below for a small photo album but lots of videos

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http://youtu.be/h8Yd2ICfXvk

http://youtu.be/WP6kkAd0ZcU

http://youtu.be/EjS1p15q8Fg

http://youtu.be/6iuDcMfY7Yg

http://youtu.be/6sQGxepD5VQ

http://youtu.be/W5uBuFiwWBc

http://youtu.be/cnas7fPAPx4

http://youtu.be/h8Yd2ICfXvk

http://youtu.be/gdK16PdXgBQ

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I arrived downtown early this morning (6:30 am), and was joined by Dan S, Dana and Jeanne on the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  There weren’t many falcons to be seen, but the Herons were out on the river in all their colors, Green, Blue, and Black!  During the morning hours, we had a couple flyovers by Beauty and Orion.  We could hear Orion’s cry before we saw them.  He as a great pair of lungs and loves to announce his arrival to all.  lol

The majority of our morning was spent watching two Green Herons, a juvie Black Crowned Night Heron (BCNH) and multiple Great Blue Herons (GBH) and they were all hunting, or fishing in this case.  It was great fun watching the BCNH juvie pluck small silver fish out of the water and lay them, still flipping about, next to him on the concrete barrier.  It was very interesting to watch and we wondered if, unlike the GBH that swallows his fish whole soon after catching it, the BCNH would rather his food be less lively?  Even when there is not a lot of Peregrine activity, we are never bored.  There is always something to watch on the river below us and the sky above.

Dan and Jeanne had to leave and Dana and I were joined by Judy, who saw her first Peregrine last weekend.  Her first TWO Peregrines, Beauty and Orion.  Not a bad start.  🙂  We decided to drive over to the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) where we found Orion on the top arm and Beauty within the framework below the platform.  It was getting very warm, so I decided to say my goodbyes.

Later during the afternoon, I returned for a quick afternoon Watch and found Beauty on the FCT, below the platform.  I could not find Orion or Dot.ca, so I decided to drive out to the BS location to see if I could find Pigott.  No luck finding her.  After circling the building slowly, twice, I could not see or hear any falcons.  Due to the heat of the day and the lack of falcons to be seen, I went home for a couple hours with plans to come back this evening.

At 7:00 pm, I arrived on the BSB for my evening Watch.  I was soon joined by Dan S, Dana, Lou, Jeanne & Larry O.  Beauty was at the nest box sitting on Cam 4.  She had been there for quite awhile and earlier Dot.ca had joined her for a bit of bowing and ee-chupping in the nest box.  A little bonding between them.  At first it was very quiet, but that was going to change and quickly.

When Jeanne arrived at 7:2o pm, Lou and Dana both spotted a 2nd falcon on the top arm of the jail communication tower, south of the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  So, now we had two falcons to watch!

At 7:40 pm, Dot.ca flew from the jail communication tower and landed on the SW corner of the Xerox Bldg.  Orion then flew in from the SE.  He flew over the library and the river and headed towards the FCT, where he landed on the platform.  Just as I was verifying he was there, DC took off from Xerox and headed south.  When he got past the Frederick Douglas/Susan B Anthony Bridge, he went into, what seemed like an endless stoop!  He folded his wings in against his body and then he dove towards the ground like a rocket!  We all watched breathlessly as he hurtled down, down, down and then pulled out and leveled his flight over the distant treeline, still heading south.  I watched him for a very long time until I could no longer see him.  I do have to wonder if he was heading to the BS location for a visit with Pigott.  He did not return this evening as far as we know.

At 7:50 pm, the Crows started to stream into the city.  Dana and I were just saying that we were surprised that Orion wasn’t chasing the Crows.  That’s when we notice that, in the midst of the Crows was a small, streamlined little Falcon coming in fast!  Yep, you guessed it.  It was Orion and he was ready and willing to play a little bit of tag with his friends the Crows.  We watched him chase one Crow up to the OCSR and both went into a cork screw dive, Orion hot on the Crows tail.  The Crow pulled up just above river and so did Orion, who was off, looking for another victim, I mean playmate! lol  After mixing it up a bit, Orion returned to the TSB and flew behind it.  We did not see him come back around, so we assume he probably landed back behind the TSB somewhere.

During all of this, Beauty watched from the nest box, Cam 4.  At 8:00 pm, she took off and flew over the river, heading east.  We saw her go up behind the Xerox building and we assumed that she may have gone up to the top south side where she like to roost for the night.  She was definitely in no hurry, so we didn’t think she was on a hunt.  Right after she left, more Crows flew through on the south side of the TSB and Orion came back out to play.  He is so tireless in his youth and such a joy to watch.  🙂

We were losing light at 8:20 pm, when we saw Orion fly up to the OCSR.  For about 5 mins, we watched him fly up to windows and Ibeams and veer off at the last minute.  He did this quite a few times before settling on the 3rd Ibeam down on the south side.  I believe he was dragging his feet, or in this case talons, so he didn’t have to go to bed.  Hahaha!  I’ve been seeing him go up to the top Ibeam, but Jeanne told us that he had gone to the 3rd Ibeam a couple evenings ago.  It was hard to see him up there in the dark, but we were able to see him sprint down the length of the Ibeam and finally end up tucked into the elevator shaft.  After waiting a few moments, we believed he was settled in for the night, so we said our good nights to each other.  It was time to head home after another beautiful weekend of Falcon Watching.  This was a weekend of keeping your eyes to the sky, but also down on river below, where so much was going on this weekend.

and just before I left, I looked up at the beautiful moon above us and gave a wink to a lost hero, Neil Armstrong.

Here is a link to some pictures from this weekend.  No sign on needed.

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I arrived downtown around 7:30 am this morning to join Dana, Dan and Larry O on the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  I was greeted by a “WE HAVE ALL THREE!” by Larry.  Well that was a nice greeting, one I love to hear.  🙂

Beauty was at the nestbox, DC was on the top IBeam of the OCSR and Orion was on the base of the Mercury statue.  The whole little Rochester Falcon family was together this fine Saturday morning.  For about 40 minutes Orion remained on there before he decided it was time to play.  This time it was Dot.ca’s turn.  O took off and flew up to DC, knocking him off of the IBeam.  First they headed north and out of view.  We thought maybe they headed for the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).  Beauty remained at the nest box on the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  Dan and Larry O said their goodbyes, leaving Dana and I on the BSB.

It wasn’t long before we saw both DC and O flying over the downtown area.  Orion was chasing DC and we were entertained by their mock aerial battles.  Dot.ca was giving his son flying lessons and we were happy to watch.

They again flew out of view and we saw that Beauty had flown out of the nest box (thanks Ei!) and she was now on the 2nd IBeam down.

At 9:15 am, we saw Orion fly in from the east without DC.  He flew over the river, low and down he went!  Splash!  A gull dove into the water, totally submersing itself.  Orion flew on, skimming the river and chasing another gull!  Dana and I watched in amazement as Orion would fly up from the river and stoop. Up and down, up and down.  He would land on the nearby Convention Center Roof for a second, slide down the metal roof and then down to the river again to chase anything that moved down there.  Nothing was safe!  This little tiercel is an incredible flyer.  Has been from day one.  His high speed chases take your breath away.  Impossible to follow with your camera.  For most of it, I would just put the camera down and enjoy watching him.  I truly wish there was a way for you all to view what we saw with our eyes.  It’s impossible to explain it accurately.

When Orion finished, he again took off, heading north towards the FCT.  Kathy O joined us for a short time and told us that Beauty was still on the OCSR, she had just moved around to the other side.  We think it was DC who then flew in and landed on the base of the NE wing of the TSB and then to the jail tower.

Twenty minutes later, Orion returned.  He started to dive towards the river when a Pigeon caught his attention!  The Pigeon skimmed over the top of the BSB with Orion coming in supersonic from behind.  Orion easily caught up to the Pigeon and knocked it down from above, actually hit it.  Orion followed it down, just in front of the Blue Cross Arena.  It was the Pigeon’s lucky day.  I saw it go down towards the river and fly back under the bridge.  Orion continued down the river and pulled up, just before the Court St Bridge.  He circled back, but the Pigeon had made its escape.  Orion headed towards the OCSR and landed on the windows on the disk above.  He then started to run around the perimeter of the disk.

Orion then took off and landed at the base of the SE wing on the TSB.  He ran (he is always running!  lol) to the base of the wing and pulled out a tidbit of food that he ate up there.  Jeanne joined us.  It must have been pretty substantial, because it took him awhile to finish his meal.  When he was done, Orion took off heading north.  We drove over to the FCT, but we could not find him.  We decided it was a good time to head home for lunch, with a promise to return later.  The heat was getting to everyone on this late August day.

When I was getting ready to go, Kathy joined me and we decided to head down to the pedestrian bridge and High Falls, just to make sure Orion had not headed over there.  We didn’t find any Peregrines, but we did get to watch a juvie Red-tailed Hawk and his mom flying over the gorge.  We even saw the young hawk land in the falcon sucking tree (guess it sucks in hawks too!), the bowed tree and the Genesee Brewery Bldg.  So much fun to watch!  Then a Kestrel flew in and I saw him chase a butterfly, catch it for a few seconds and then release it!  Wow!  Never saw that before.  The young RTH took off and flew over the bridge towards the High Falls and the Kestrel followed, stooping on the much larger bird, doing no harm.  Finally the RTH left and so did the Kestrel.  It was hot out there and no place to get any kind of shade, so we didn’t stay any longer, but it was great fun watching from there.

Later, I arrived downtown to join Kathy O on the Broad St Bridge around 5:00 pm.  There were no falcons in sight at first.  Finally we saw Orion and DC flying above Xerox.  We saw one of them head towards the FCT but lost the other one.  So, we headed over to the FCT, where we were joined by Dana and Lou.  DC was on the top arm of FCT, Beauty was below the platform and I could hear, but not see O, somewhere hidden in the framework.  We received a text from Jeanne that she, Dan, Carrie and Shaky were on the BSB.

I had to leave at 8:00 pm, and I was happy to get Jeanne’s text that at 8:20 pm, Orion was back up on the top IBeam of the OCSR, next to the elevator shaft, his nighttime roosting spot.

What an incredible day for watching our Falcons fly high and low over the downtown area.  Orion is continuing to learn from his parents how to learn to survive when it’s his turn to leave Rochester and hopefully find a mate of his own and raise young.  I truly hope that we hear about this feisty little tiercel in the future.  In the meantime, I know that I will keep my eyes to the sky in hopes of seeing Orion continue to master the skies above Rochester.

Oh, and before I forget.  I received a phone call from our friend Ginha this afternoon.  She and Dave had made their way downtown for a short visit.  They didn’t find any falcons, but they were very happy to check out the area.  She said to say hi to everyone!

Remember to click on a picture twice, if you would like to see it in a larger format.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Just as I was pulling out of my parking lot at work, I received a text from Donna.  Seems that our friend Mark, who works in the Times Square Bldg (TSB) heard a bit of an altercation outside his windows around 2:00 pm.  So, I texted Donna and told her I was on my way downtown to check on things.  First stop the Frontier Communication Tower and Kodak Office, since Mark reported seeing the falcons fly off heading north.  Kodak Office was quiet, no Falcons there.  As I was driving towards the FCT, I saw a falcon take off from the center of the framework and fly towards downtown, heading SE.  I made a quick stop on the Andrew St Bridge to get a better look at the FCT and the north side of the OCSR and other buildings.  Nothing.  Onward.

My next stop was the Broad St Bridge (BSB), where I found both Beauty and Dot.ca chilling on the top IBeam of the OCSR, south side.  They were just a few feet apart from each other and both had their backs to me the majority of the time I was there.  Beauty was on the left and Dot.ca was on the right.  He was doing a lot of preening.  I spent some time on Aqueduct St where I had a good view of both of them.  I was hoping that Orion would fly in to join them.  No such luck.  I decided to go back over to the FCT.  This time luck was with me.  Orion was fussing around in his play-nest, moving sticks here and there, getting it us right.  lol

I was soon joined by Joyce and Brian.  We continued to be entertained by the very playful young Tiercel.  He came off of the nest and sat on a nearby railing.  The City Hall Crows were making a ruckus on top of the building and they had caught Orion’s attention.  Oh, more playmates!  Orion was off in a flash.  He flew over us and chased the Crows as he passed over the roof.  We lost sight of him at that point.  Time to head back to the BSB, where we were joined by Kathy O, Dan S, Carrie, Shaky and Lisa McK.

Beauty had taken off and only Dot.ca remained on the top Ibeam of OCSR.  The river below us was alive with all kinds of birds and critters.  When falcon watching gets slow, there are a hundred other things to watch.  Dan yelled “he’s off!”.  Some of the Crows were streaming into the city past the TSB and Dot.ca didn’t like that.  He took off heading towards the TSB and then looped back towards us, now heading SE, right on the tails of the Crows that had already passed by.   Smart, he now had the sun behind him.  The chase was on, and it wasn’t just Dot.ca, there was a 2nd falcon giving chase.  Joyce actually got a picture of both falcons, one smaller than the other, but there was no way to know for sure if it was Beauty or Orion.

The falcons and the crows headed SE and the falcons did not return.  At 7:30 pm, I called it a night and said goodbye to everyone.

The other Rochester Falcons:

Pigott was seen by Kathy O before she joined us on the BSB.

Joyce and Brian saw Pigott and Dot.ca both later tonight.  D.C. didn’t stay long.

On my way home, I found KPT at KP on his favored night roosting spot above the catwalk on the east stack.

So, all 5 Rochester Falcons were seen today.  🙂

At 8:30 pm, I received a tweet from Lisa McK that one falcon was on the south side of Xerox, and a 2nd on the NW corner of HSBC.

Tomorrow is expected to be another beautiful summer day and I sure plan on being out there with my eyes to the sky!

Here is a link to a few pics in a Shutterfly album I took today.  No sign on needed.  Enjoy!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Another day done at work.  Time to get out and find me some falcons!  🙂  I arrived downtown just before 4:00 pm.  After checking the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) and Kodak Office, I headed straight for the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  There I found an adult falcon on the top Ibeam, south side of OCSR.  Looked like Dot.ca to me.  Onward to see if I could find Orion and Beauty.  After circling the downtown area, I came up empty handed, no falcons in sight.  So back to the BSB I went, just to find out that Dot.ca had left while I was searching for the others.

Time to search again.  At 4:40 pm, I parked on the Andrew St Bridge and found a falcon on the top arm of the FCT.  Looked like Dot.ca had moved over there from the OCSR.  It wasn’t long before Dot.ca took off yet again, stooping off to the south.  I took a quick break and drove over to the FCT.  At 5:30 pm, I found Beauty underneath the platform preening.  While I watched Beauty, I heard a very familiar, very loud vocalization approaching from the south, coming in fast!  Seemingly at supersonic speed, first Dot.ca flew in and landed on the FCT below Beauty.  Hot on D.C.’s tail was a little spitfire, no slouch in the speed department himself.  Orion approached the FCT, he threw up his landing gear and made a perfect landing just to the left of D.C.’s position.  D.C. didn’t miss a beat as he plucked the small Starling sized bird he caught.

Beauty remained, very attentive to what was going on.  Orion continued to wail at the top of his lungs, sounding like he was going horse.  Dot.ca continued to pluck.  Finally, it must have been to his liking.  Dot.ca took off with the small package held in one talon.  He flew south for a very short distance and then did a U-turn back towards the FCT, landing a couple feet to the left of Orion, who sprinted towards his dad and grabbed the offering.  Silence.

Beauty must have been pleased with this outcome, because she spread her wings and took off heading south east.  Dot.ca followed, leaving the now quiet Orion to his dinner.  I was sorry not to hear the “nom nom nom’s” we heard from him when he was younger and being fed in the nest box.  I was ready to video just to get that sound which I loved so much.  Now Orion was a big boy and he could feed himself, which he did on the platform containing the old Crows nest.

At 6:30 pm, Orion was finished eating, time to play.  First on the agenda, play in the old Crows nest.  Rearrange some sticks, tidy it up a bit.  Next, run down the length of the platform a couple times before settling on the railing looking south, the direction both Beauty & Dot.ca took after he started to eat.  See, he was paying attention!  lol

There must have been something going on and City Hall tonight.  Lots of folks coming in for something and it seemed that every one of them wanted to know about the falcons.  I love that they are so interested.  But, it has its’ consequences.  While I was answering questions, Orion disappeared from view.  I wasn’t sure if he laid down out of sight for a nap or if he flew off of the FCT.  I waited awhile to make sure he wasn’t up there.  After awhile, I got in my car and drove over to the BSB where I found Dot.ca on the top IBeam of the OCSR, south side (6:40 pm).  I stayed there for awhile before going in search of Beauty and Orion.  At 7 pm, I found Beauty on the SE corner of HSBC, looking east.  No sign of Orion.  So back to the BSB, where I joined Kathy O and Jeanne.  Larry O soon arrived and we amused ourselves by watching Dot.ca and the critters on the river below, which included a baby raccoon, playing at the waters edge.

Larry drew our attention to a small bird that landed on the IBeam below Dot.ca.  It kept flying in front of the windows, probably getting bugs.  This was not a very smart location to be doing this.  As we watched, Dot.ca stooped down the face of the building and almost snatched the small bird.  Just missed the very lucky little bird!  Dot.ca flew around a bit and ended up back on the top IBeam.

At 7:40 pm, I decided to end my Watch and leave it to my fellow Watchers to finish the evening Watch.  On the way out of downtown, I checked the FCT, but could not see Orion up there.  I let them know and headed home.  But of course, I had to check KP on the way home.

I was really happy to see KPT on the catwalk of the east stack.  He was very alert, head turning in every direction, doing his best Linda Blair imitation.  🙂  If this is the same falcon we’ve been seeing all along (and I have no reason not to think it is), he has really lost a lot of juvie plumage and is turning into quite the handsome adult.  Very white chest and dark helmet.  Hope he sticks around and we’re able to positively ID him soon.  All we know is that he has a black over black band, which means he was hatched in Canada.  As I watched, KPT stooped off of the catwalk and then flew around to the north side of the building.  He was definitely in hunt mode.

It was finally time for me to head home.  It had been a very long day, but it ended with me doing my most favorite thing, keeping my eyes to the sky and seeing FALCONS!  🙂

Here is a link to my Shutterfly album with some pics from today.  No sign on needed.  Enjoy!

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By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Evening Watchers: Kathy O, Larry O, Jeanne, Carrie, Shaky, Lisa McK and Carol P.

I think it’s time to switch over to Falcon Watches vs Fledge Watches.  Orion is above and beyond fledging at this point!  WooHoo!  🙂

Well, it sounds like MAK had a nice morning Watch with lots of activity by Orion.  The nighttime Watch was much quieter, but we did have a little bit of flying by both Orion and Beauty (and maybe DC, we can’t be sure) before they tucked into their respective roosting spots for the night.

Got a late start tonigh, so I didn’t arrive downtown until about 6:00 pm.  The sun was shining with barely a cloud in the sky.  But there was just a hint of coolness in the air.  Just a reminder that Summer was drawing to an end and Fall was waiting to make an appearance.  I first checked out the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).  All was very quiet, no falcons there.  Next stop Kodak Office (KO).  It wasn’t quiet, but for a different reason than a very loud juvie falcon.  They were working at the base of the last remaining smoke stack at the BeeBee Station, the High Falls Stack.  Not exactly sure what’s going on there, but I did notice something I hadn’t expected to see.  Half of the catwalk was missing from the middle of the smoke stack.  Too many places with memories of falcons past are disappearing.  Oh, well.  We have new falcons to Watch, and that is a good thing.

I checked other known Pefa hangouts and ended up on the Broad St Bridge (BSB).  Absolutely no falcons were in view from the bridge.  OK, time for a ride around the downtown area.  Finally, I found a falcon sitting up on the south side of the Xerox Bldg, 5 columns in from the SE corner.  I drove around for a better view and saw that it was Beauty.  She was in the spot she usually loved to roost at night when she wasn’t in nesting season.  This was her fall/winter spot.  I hadn’t seen her up here in quite awhile.  I ended up parking in the parking lot near the Geva Theater.  Figured I’d keep watching Beauty for now.  Usually when you found Beauty, you found Orion.

I was soon joined by Kathy O and Larry O.  After awhile, we received a tweet from Jeanne, who was up on the BSB.  There was a falcon eating on the Times Square Bldg (TSB), one level above the nest box, and feathers were flying!  Carrie and Shaky arrived and we all decided to go to the BSB.  We arrived just in time to see the falcon there for just a few moments before it flew around to the back of the TSB and out of sight.  Then we saw two flying over the river and library heading east towards the Xerox bldg.  We were unable to ID any of them, so have no idea who was eating on the TSB.

Lisa McK arrived and she, Kathy and I decided to check out the Xerox area where we saw the two falcons flying.  One falcon was sitting on the SW corner of the HSBC bldg.  Looked like Beauty to me.  It wasn’t long before a 2nd falcon flew in and landed above Beauty on the railing.  There was no doubt whatsoever that this was Orion.  He announced his arrival loudly to all.  lol  Beauty took off and flew around Xerox, finally settling on the 5th column she had been on when I first arrived.  Orion decided HE wanted to join his momma.  Up he went!  Flap, flap, flap, higher and higher, until he finally made it up to the top.  He attempted to land on the same column as Beauty, but missed.  He ended up landing for just a few seconds on the SE corner of Xerox and then coming off and around to the east side, where we lost him.

It was getting dark when Jeanne tweeted from the BSB that Carrie had just spotted Orion land on the top IBeam of the OCSR.  He did his usual sprint down the length of the IBeam and ended up tucked into the elevator shaft.  So at 8:30 pm, Beauty was on her favorite nighttime spot on the south side of the Xerox Bldg and Orion was on his, on the top IBeam of OCSR south side.  Kathy and I joined Jeanne, Carrie and Shaky on the BSB and compared notes about what was seen tonight.  Not a whole lot of activity like there usually is during the day, but that’s ok.  Sometimes, it’s nice to have a calm and quiet Watch.

As it got darker and we could barely make out Orion, ducks and geese started to move up and down the river.  They were flying over us, back and forth, very low.  Very cool to see!

So, whether it’s morning, afternoon or evening, you should ALWAYS have your eyes to the sky.  You just never know what you’ll see!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

As most of you have heard, our friend Orville has left the building and fledged, Orion Style!  Jeanne, Kathy O, MAK, Dana and I were on the Broad St Bridge (BSB) watching Orion at the nest box wrestling with something at the front edge of the nest box.  I kept saying!  It’s Orville!  He’s got Orville out there!  I started to walk towards the TSB but turned back when Orion took off, heading north.  By the time I made my way back to my fellow Watchers, we all received a tweet from Donna, “Orville’s gone!  Check the street!”  I immediately headed back towards the TSB, this time on a mission, find Orville!

I started my search on the sidewalk under the nest box, where I found 3 pieces of Orville scattered about.  Oh, poor Orville.  My search continued.  There had to be more.  Yep, out in the middle of the street, I found the largest piece of Orville, thankfully untouched by passing cars.  I made sure no cars were coming before I carefully went out into the road and scooped up the 4th and final piece of Orville.

Orville is currently in rehab and will be cared for, hopefully to return to the Rochester Falcons nest box high above the city, where he will continue to guard young eyases in the future.  🙁

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

I joined Dan on the Broad St. Bridge about 6:40am. He told me he hadn’t seen any falcons and that Larry had gone to the pedestrian bridge at high falls cuz  there was a falcon on Kodak Office(KO). Larry tweeted that there was 2 on the KO tower and then there were none. Meanwhile, Dan and I were searching the skies for falcons when Ei tweeted that Orion was at the nest box. I was delighted to hear that the peeps at home would get to have a look at our little juvie. He stayed for over half an hour before taking off toward the Frontier Communications Tower(FCT).

I waited a few minutes for a return of Orion and then started to trek over to FCT. I ran into my friend Nelson who couldn’t believe that I would walk to Kodak just to look for falcons. He told me to tell Donna he said HI then we fist bumped and he went on his way shaking his head at how much the falcons mean to all of us. Passion for something you love is a good thing!

So I got to my bench at the corner of Fitzhugh and Church streets to observe the FCT for falcons.  I barely sat down when Orion came out from the inner part of the structure and flew after a butterfly of all things! I guess it’s his version of clearing the air space lol and then he flew back to the tower and landed on the platform railing southeast corner. He did his famous fly-jumping along the rail making his way over to near the southwest corner.

Orion vanished while I was tweeting so I had no idea what direction to go. I opted for checking KO first before going back to the BSB and I had no success locating any falcons at KO. Off to the bridge where I found Beauty on the OCSR building top ibeam south corner. For a little while there were 4 guys on the roof and Beauty never flinched so I don’t think she was aware that they were up there. I would share space with her up there for nearly 3 hrs. During that time DC showed up on Mercurys head.

And a woman came by and asked if I was making a documentary! I said no I’m on fledge watch and of course gave her the details of what that is. After she left I thought yeah I pretty much am by documenting all that I observe into my watch reports. Orion suddenly appeared landing under the southeast wing as he sang a song on his way. lol He didn’t stay long and he was off to the jail tower 2nd arm on the south side. Soon after that DC flew over to OCSR coming to rest on the 2nd ibeam near the south corner directly below Beauty.

I broke for lunch and when I returned Orion was gone and so was Beauty. DC remained on OCSR as I searched for Orion to no avail. I saw a falcon fly through low and go to the back lower roof of the Times Square building and land on a wall ledge. It had its back to me so I was having a hard time IDing who it was tho I knew it was an adult. After reviewing my pics on the computer I can safely say that it was the Beautyful one.

I took pics of a huge spider in its tattered web on the side of a car in the parking lot by Wilder. It had some very long legs and shown up very well in the sun on the black car. Beauty left the TSB while I was photographing the spider and so I started searching for falcons. Having no luck I decided they were taking their afternoon nap somewhere hunkered down where I wasn’t going to find them for a few hours. So I hopped on the next bus home thus ending my watch. Orion is so entertaining to watch and a good source for making me smile!

I made many short videos today and a photo album-click the links below to view them

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWrFbA

http://youtu.be/k_kVLD3n4Fw

http://youtu.be/RD-IWUwXCUI

http://youtu.be/9c3IomY-89Y

http://youtu.be/AzEi2ZKVthk

http://youtu.be/55UGR6gfiSg

http://youtu.be/qyZtZujx2Y0

http://youtu.be/WlnfWQ6qkWs