By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

I left  this morning so excited to be free of the house thanks to my friend Tesa who dropped her minivan off to me last night. She told me I won the publishers clearinghouse sweepstakes and I could keep her vehicle for the next few days. Now I don’t need to find a ride to the hospital Monday for my knee replacement surgery for she will come pick it up there! Hot diggity dog 4 straight days of falcon watching and I don’t know, whatever I want to do.WOOHOO!

So I got downtown just at daybreak and the search was on! After driving around the city for an hour I decided to park it on the Andrews St. Bridge where I could see KO,FCT,Mercury,TS and everything in between. After a bit I texted Donna to have her let me know if Beauty showed up on Mercury while I went to check down river by the Kodak Hawkeye plant. After checking the camera she informed that the Beautyful one had been there at 7:24 for about 3 minutes. As luck would have it I was over by HSBC at that time so I missed her. Suddenly I spotted some pigeons scattering over the river and sure enough there was a Peregrine on their tails. Beauty chased them up river and behind the Radisson Hotel out of view. I then left for the Broad St. bridge and after sitting there for maybe 5 minutes I spotted Beauty on the northeast corner of the Crossroads building. She was looking big as life in the sunshine and she had breakfast.

It looked pretty red and meaty so I presume she caught one of those pigeons for a fresh meal! I watched her for about 10 minutes when she picked up what was left of her prey and flew off. I then spotted her on the platform railing of the FCT but as I got ready to take off from the bridge to go over there she flew off to the north and I never saw her again. I left downtown about 9:15 for I had a doctors appointment at 10:30 to get to. Since KP is just around the corner from my docs’ office I stopped to check on Unity but she was nowhere to be found. I also checked after my appointment and again this afternoon on my way home with no luck. I do hope she’s ok for she hasn’t been seen since our big windstorm the other night with a top wind gust at the airport of 72 mph. I will definitely check again tomorrow. While I was at KP in lot 77 I noticed a flock of Snow Buntings flitting through with their gorgeous white underparts.

That’s it for this watch, so until next time keep a smile on that face cuz I love smiling faces! 🙂

Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

On my way home, I always try to stop at Kodak Park to check on Unity. It’s on my way home. Today I got off at Lexington and turned left onto Lee Rd, which would take me to Ridgeway and Kodak Park.

As I drove down Lee Rd towards Ridge Way (at the lights in the distance), I spotted a large bird on the 2nd telephone pole from the left. Hmmm, was it a Red-tail Hawk? As I got closer, I realized it was NOT a RTH or a Coop or a Merlin. It was………..Unity!

If you’d like t see a few pictures I took, you can check them out by clicking on this link to my KGallery Album. No sign on necessary.  I luckily had my little camera wth me.  Hey!  It was better than nothing!  🙂

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=9676730821105%3A1947648548

Enjoy!
Carol P.

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

It was a cool 5 degrees when I left for my watch this morning. When I arrived downtown I checked FCT first then KO without any sign of Beauty. I then drove down Broad St. and parked beside the Democrat and Chronicle across from the Times Square building. I wasn’t there long when I spotted the Beautyful one flying in from the north and landing on the money bag hand of Mercury. I tweeted it out and then drove over to Aqueduct St. to get a closer view and take some pics.

She didn’t stay long and tho it’s of poor quality I got the takeoff shot.

I searched the city in all the usual spots checking KO often without finding her until I parked on the Andrews St. bridge and looked through my binocs to see a tail hanging off the northeast corner of the launchpad. I quickly drove down State St. to confirm that it was Beauty and tweeted it out. Next I went down to Mill St. in the high falls district where I took some pics and a video of her while she ate whatever she had for breakfast way up there.

It was time to leave at this point so that I could Joyces’ car to her for work. Thanks so much Joycie for giving me this opportunity to spend a morning with the Beautyful one! This surely put a smile on this watchers face! 🙂

Check out the link below to watch Beauty eating her breakfast.

http://youtu.be/YsoUkWKZaDM

Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Not many falcons this weekend, since I didn’t get out as much as I had wanted to. Still fighting a cold or something. I did get out with MAK Saturday morning and saw both Unity at Kodak Park and Beauty on the Kodak Tower.

If you’d you like to check out my pics from yesterday and today, just click on this link. No sign on needed.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=6512587721105%3A703170208

Oh, and there’s a little brown jobbie that I found on my travels today. Could use some help on an ID. Might be a new bird for the Rochester Falcon Watchers Big Year. 🙂

Enjoy!
Carol P.

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Joyce picked me up around 10:15am and we went downtown straight away. It didn’t take long to find  Beauty. She was on the cupola of the Kodak Office Tower south side. With bright sunshine and blue skies she was looking especially… well, Beautyful!

The bad news is I only took a few pics today. The good news is they are all of Beauty!

The clouds rolled in and it became overcast and the Beautyful one seemed like she would be settled in for a while so we left to pick up Brian. We then went to Kodak Park where we found KathyO just arriving ahead of us. Unfortunately Unity was not around so after a brief stay we headed out for Charlotte. On the way we stopped and drove through Holy Sepulchre Cemetary looking for birds. We didn’t spend much time there either for Brian needed to be dropped off at his buddys’ house for football playoffs. After we said our goodbyes, Joyce and I whipped down to Charlotte where I spotted the female Snowy Owl. Falcon watcher Lynda named her Summer yesterday and so I will refer to her as such in the future. Anyway, Summer was on a rooftop of an apartment complex across the Genesee River over in Summerville. I took a few pics but it was such a long distance they came out very blurry so sorry I have none to post in this report.

Lisa McKeown had invited me to go to Mendon Ponds Park for Winterfest and so we had to leave so I could get home in time for her to pick me up.When Lisa arrived Joyce was still at my house and thus she was asked to join us. She was more than happy to do so since she is always the one doing the driving.  I didn’t know Lisa had to help June Summers(GVAS) who had a display at  the event and so Joyce and I went to visit the birds and folks over at Wild Wings. We saw Dana and Lou who came for a visit. It’s always an enjoyable time to go there! After  the event finished up at 4:00pm Lisa,Joyce and I took a ride out to Lima to look for Short-earred owls. We were in luck for we had 5 sightings of them and one Harris Hawk. As darkness came upon us we ended our day. Joyce asked since she had left her vehicle at my house would I like to use it for a morning watch tomorrow and then I could bring it out to her when I’m done so she could get to work. Of course I said yes! So Lisa dropped Joyce off at her place and then brought me home. I had a great time this weekend with my falcon watcher friends and I want all of you to know how appreciative I am of all of you for taking me out to do what I so love to do. I can’t help but smile!  🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Boy what a full day of fun with my fellow falcon flakes after a long housebound week!  The day started with CarolP picking me up for a morning watch. We found the Beautyful one on the Kodak Office tower perched atop the right side arch above where the nest box used to be. The streets were not plowed too well and while we were turning around to get a good look at her she left. We had no idea what direction she went in so we searched for a while to no avail. Carol decided we’d go to Charlotte to see what we could see and as we were near Irondequoit Mall she thought we might as well check there first. Bad decision for there were no falcons there and we ran into a median that was completely covered with snow as the parking lot had not been plowed. We ended up with the front tires off the ground and the underside of the car resting on the concrete curb. unfortunately the car was front-wheel drive so I knew we weren’t going to go antwhere without a tow. I asked if Carol had AAA and so she called them. They said it would be an hour so I did my best to keep her laughing and not be too upset over it for I didn’t see any damage. In the meantime watcher Lynda texted me and asked if I wanted to go on a watch with her. I told her the situation and she came over to sit with us and wait for help. 2 hours later the tow truck showed up and freed Carols’ car.

I hopped in Lyndas’ car and we followed Carol to her dealer to get it checked out. She went home while Lynda and I went downtown to join Brian and Joyce who were watching Beauty on the money bag hand of Mercury.

Lynda and I went to KP after this and told Brian and Joyce who had a couple errands to do that we would meet them in Charlotte to look for the Snowy Owl. After only a few minutes I spotted Unity flying in from the east and we watched her fly to the blue building and land on a ledge just below the roof top. She flew off and landed on the same ledge a bit further down to the right.

I called security to let them know we were there and the guy said can I ask you a question about the birds all serious like and I said yes, what do you want to know? He said when it gets real cold out like this do they put on clothes or booties  for you to see! LOL I laughingly said no but they do foof up their feathers to keep warm and we both had a good laugh. Lynda and I didn’t stay long for we were losing light quickly and so we went to Charlotte. We arrived before Joyce and Brian and found the female Snowy Owl across the river on the Summerville pier about half way out just beyond the rocks. It was a long distance and not much light so my pics are of poor quality.

I n took a couple pics of the ice that had formed on the Charlotte pier railing.  Lynda was way behind me cuz it was brutally cold out on the pier.

I could see Brian,Joyce and her dogs had arrived and were walking out to join me. My fingers were getting painfully cold so I snapped a couple more pics of the owl and headed back to join Lynda in her warm car. She was too cold to come out with us on the pier. Lynda brought my attention to a pair of long-tailed ducks in the river as I walking up to meet her.

A few more pics of our resident female Snowy Owl which Lynda thinks we should name Summer cuz she hangs out in Summerville so much.

When Brian and Joyce came back to the car I asked if everyone wanted to come to my house for coffee. So as the sun was setting on this watchers day we left with a smile on our faces. 🙂

Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Joyce and Brian picked me up at the airport and we went downtown to find Beauty and then we went to KP and found Unity. We then took a ride to Irondequoit where we found a pefa on a light pole on the bay bridge. Next stop was Summerville where we spotted the female Snowy Owl on the coast guard antenna. Not a bad watch for my first one of the year if I do say so myself! Click the link below for a small album of the days pics and keep on smiling every one of you!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=407222144213%3A608152255

MAK

Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

My weekend Falcon Watch continues. It was much colder today, but lots of sunshine, so it made it tolerable.

Thankfully watching from my car is an option. Although the Falcon Flakes have been known to be out and about on the most frigid days. But, I was fighting a sore throat and didn’t want to make it worse. My Watch would be shorter today.

After getting some coffee, the $1 for a large special from McD’s, and a free small coffee (it was Customer Appreciation day) I headed to Kodak Park. I would never say no to a free coffee. 🙂

I immediately spotted Unity on the blue bldg that held her scrape. She was on the top ledge standing in front of her shadow. She didn’t stay long. Unity walked down the length of the ledge and took off, heading east. I watched her swoop up into the “pigeon box”. It was a large square hollow structure at the end of a chute. The only entrance is from below and there are beams for pigeons and falcons to sit on.

Probably pretty comfy up there on a cold, windy day and dry if it rains or snows.
She pooped and settled, so I decided to head downtown to look for Beauty. First stop Kodak Office and the surrounding High Falls area.

No sign of Beauty here. I watched as a city truck drove down the pedestrian bridge we used to Watch from. Did you know that this bridge used to be open to two-way traffic? I’ve been on that bridge when a bunch of people have walked out onto it and you can feel it “bounce”. They closed it to car traffic sometime in the 70’s I believe.

OK, onward. I checked all over downtown for close to 2 hours and could not find Beauty. Kathy O arrived and she could not find her either. The good news is that Brian H, Joyce and MAK did see Beauty on a “disk” on top of a ramp garage near Kodak Office later in the afternoon. She was not there earlier when I was looking for her. This spot was very unusual for Beauty, but I had seen Mariah and many juvies up there.

It was time for me to go. Kathy and I checked out Kodak Park one more time since it was on my way home. Unity was still up inside the “pigeon box”. Time for me to go!

You can check out some pics I took today in a KGallery album. No sign on needed.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=2935820621105%3A169511845

Enjoy!
Carol P.

Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

After a really not very nice week at work, I was ready for some downtime. And what better way to spend it? Looking for Falcons of course! I didn’t get going until 10 a.m.

The sun was shining. The sky was unbelievably blue. Temps in the 40’s. No snow. No rain. No sleet. It was the perfect Saturday and I was going to take full advantage of it.

My first stop, Kodak Park. I arrived at 10 a.m. and found Unity sitting on top of the tall still. She flew back to the tank-like structure behind the stills and landed on a large pipe, where she remained until I left.

Next stop, downtown Rochester. At 11:20 a.m., I found Beauty on top of the Times Square Bldg. She was just below the NE “wing”, directly above the nest box. At 11:50 a.m., she took off and headed west.

Of course it was the opposite direction to where I was located on the east side.
I headed in that direction, ending up in Susan B. Anthony’s neighborhood. I so admire the statue of Susan B. and Frederick Douglas having tea in the park on the street that Susan B’s house is located. It’s lovely.

I checked all the buildings in the area and couldn’t find Beauty.

Back to Kodak Park, where I found Unity back on the tall still. Kathy O joined me and soon, Unity took off heading west. She flew low in front of the buildings and we quickly lost sight of her. Kathy and I both went looking for her, but couldn’t find her.

We decided to check for the Peregrines we had seen on the old Railroad Bridge at Charlotte (NY).

We arrived at Charlotte around 2 p.m. No luck finding the falcons, but we were very happy to find a Snowy Owl sitting on top of the closed Carousel building. We drove over and I took a few pictures. Dana and Lou joined us.

After awhile, I said my goodbyes and headed home. It was a very GOOD day, spent with good friends and seeing two Peregrines and a Snowy wasn’t too shabby! 🙂

I’ve put together a KGallery album with pictures from today. No sign on needed.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=2627727521105%3A129153733

Enjoy!
Carol P.

From Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P. – 12/31/11

Happy New Year everyone!

My New Years Eve Falcon watch started out with my neighborhood Church Hawks. This is a local pair of Red-tail Hawks that nest near where I live. Every now and then I’ll find one or both on the cross of a church down the street from where I live. I’m pretty sure they had only one baby last year.

Next stop was Kodak Park. No luck finding Unity. Kathy O had seen her yesterday afternoon, so she was definitely still in the area.

Onward to downtown Rochester. At about 10:30 am, I found Beauty on the Frontier Communication Tower (FCT) under the platform. This was a favorite perch for her. I was soon joined by Dana. Between 10:30 am and 1:00 pm, when I left, Beauty remained on the FCT except for flying off once to chase some pigeons and return. Shaky turned pancam towards FCT to allow the Rfalconcam friends to view Beauty.

I had to do some grocery shopping and when I left a very busy Wegmans, my cell phone rang. It was a very excited Dana. She was down at Charlotte and there were two Peregrine Falcons on the old railroad swing bridge. Well guess where I headed next? 🙂

I soon joined Dana and Kathy O at Charlotte and for a couple hours we watched this obviously bonded pair tandem hunt pigeons and ducks and an occasional thump on a gull.

We believe this is the same pair we had previously been watching at the Irondequoit Mall. They are both unbanded and their coloring is very close to Mariah and Kaver’s. White over the cere and flattish head on the female and a very dark helmet on the Tiercel (male).

Could this be Charbay, our wintering female that hung out in Charlotte last year? We even started wondering if the Tiercel might be Mr. T. I know that we’ll be looking to see if there are any similarities between this Tiercel and Mr. T. Stay tuned!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=5272637321105%3A59414375

Click on the link above to see my KGallery album of pictures from today’s watch. No sign on needed.

Enjoy!
Carol P.