From Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I decided to go out for a Falcon Watch even though rain was heading our way. On my way to downtown, I pass Kodak Park, so I checked there first. No luck finding Unity.

When I go downtown, I have a certain route I take to check out all the different areas we are used to seeing Beauty. Kodak Office is my first stop and I didn’t need to go further this time. There she was. Beauty was on the NE corner of what the Watchers call the launch pad, which is above where the old nest box was located. You can still see netting covering the playpen area. The playpen is the level just below the old nest box. It was called the playpen because very often some of the eyases would find their way down there. It was a safe area that allowed them to run and flap their wings under the watchful eye of their parents.

I drove over to the street on the east side of the tower next to the condos that were built over what used to be the Kodak Visitor’s parking lot. This area has changed so much.

It started to rain and I was joined for a short time by Joyce and her dad Herb who was visiting from Florida. It was very nice meeting him. We stood in the rain, until it started to turn to ice pellets. Joyce and her dad had to leave, so I got back into my car to warm up and dry off and continue my Watch.

As I watched, Beauty sprinted across to the SE corner of the launch pad. Have you ever seen a Peregrine run before? Well, it’s pretty hilarious. They may be the fastest creature on the earth, but they were not made for running on those big yellow feet! lol

She picked up a small piece of leftover prey she must have cached there. It didn’t take her long to finish and obviously she was still hungry. She took off and flew around the tower, again landing on the NE corner of the launch pad. I was taking video at this time and watched her walk back out of sight. It wasn’t long before she returned dragging a large wing portion of what looked like it came from a pigeon.

On the NE corner of the launch pad, she started to pluck feathers and eat her fill. She is definitely using the Kodak Tower to cache food and eat her meals.

After finishing her lunch, she settled in to preen, stretch, doze and poop. Ah, the life of a Peregrine Falcon. 🙂

About a 1/2 hour later, she again took off, this time flying around the north side of the tower where I lost sight of her. I drove around to the north and found her on the NW corner of the launch pad. It was time for me to leave.

On the way home, I made one more stop at KP to look for Unity. She was again absent. I had seen her on Christmas Eve, so I knew she was still visiting this area. It was just sometimes hard to find her.

Kathy O, Joyce and her dad joined me for a short while, before we all headed home.

I wanted to share two videos I took of Beauty eating on the Kodak Tower. Sorry for the quality of the video. Just click on these two Youtube links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGxdVrnlhtY&list=UUkL-m83o7PVaDyTQPEbi-aw&index=2&feature=plcp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGFQd3u-v9M&list=UUkL-m83o7PVaDyTQPEbi-aw&index=1&feature=plcp

Enjoy!
Carol P.

Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Today I spent time with Beauty and yesterday some time with Unity, so both Rochester Lady Pefas were accounted for this Christmas Weekend.

All was peaceful at both sites, Downtown and Kodak Park. Sunny days with no snow. No white Christmas for Rochester.

I’ve put together a KGallery Album of pics and my report from this weekend and also included a few at the end of the pair of Pergrines we had been seeing at the Irondequoit Mall aka Medley Center.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=7820001221105%3A51858279

Enjoy! No sign on required.

I hope everyone enjoyed this holiday weekend. Merry Christmas!

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

On another brisk and bright sunny December morning in Rochester CarolP picked me up for a watch. We started downtown and couldn’t find Beauty anywhere so we wandered over to Irondequoit  mall but before we got there we had to stop and take a pic of a Breast cancer pink bulldozer. On one side of it was this caption: Clearing a path for a cure.

Having found no pefas at the mall and surrounding area we headed to KP for a look with yet again no sightings. We had to be getting back downtown for I was going to join Shaky,June,CarolP and Ravi in the Times Square building for some camera maintenance. When we arrived on the Broad St. bridge we spotted a couple Chinook helicopters to the south and then the Beautyful one on the northeast corner of the Crossroads building eating.

It was time to go up to the nest box as the others had arrived. We went most of the way in an elevator and then we had to climb 2 flights of spiral stairs.

My knee held up very well.  I got to see and touch the nest box where Beauty and Archer brought up Callidora(Helga Jean for Janet) and sweet boy Jemison! And here’s my first view of it from down in the well.

Looking up from the well

On the floor of the well were a couple  leftover tidbits from one of Beautys’ meals.

Ravi was fixing the main cam while CarolP stood on the ladder to assist him. Shaky,June and I stood in the well as Carol said Beauty was on Mercury.

She didn’t stay long and Ravi finished up and when Carol got down off the ladder she asked me if I wanted to go up there. Was she kidding… of course I did and so up I went! What a view from up there…

And so I touched the nestbox in 3 spots before climbing down off the ladder feeling very good about my experience. This watch was over and before we departed Carol took a pic of me standing below the nest box smiling! 🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

It was a long week waiting to get out on a falcon watch and thanks to CarolP  for picking me up and making it possible for me to do so. We headed straight for downtown and the Beautyful one.  We found Beauty on the top ibeam of the OCSR building north side.

Naturally she had her back to us  from where we were parked beside the Radisson Hotel. As we were chit chatting and not paying attention Beauty flew off, in what direction we didn’t know so we went to the Broad St. bridge. She was spotted up on the Times Square building under the northeast wing, one of her favorite places to perch.

Again with her back to us! Brian met up with us at this point and we all went down to Aqueduct St. for a better view and to get away from the tons of people that were out and about for an event at the Blue Cross Arena.

Like a flash Beauty flew off flying east very fast like a girl on a mission until she could no longer be seen. Carol decided we would check the Hawkeye nest site where Joyce  and I had seen her last Saturday. We had no luck in finding her and so the watch took us to the Irondequoit mall to look for the pair there. When we arrived Dana was in the parking lot and so we parked by her to talk. She hadn’t seen either one but I did spot a man with an interesting hat on his head. He was working one of the Salvation Armys red kettles. After taking a pic and zooming to see what was on his head I said “I want one”! You see I’ve always been into peace signs and such.

On a very brisk but sunny day in Rochester we left for Kodak Park. We found Unity where Carol had left her this morning before she picked me up, in the nook on the blue building above the scrape.

After a half hour or so she flew down to the ibeam in front of the scrape for some preening duties.

We left this big gorgeous falcon in the bright sunshine and headed back to the city for one more look to see if we could find Beauty before taking Brian home. No such luck but we were satisfied knowing that both of our resident female falcons were accounted for on this day in December. I was very happy to have spent time with my fellow falcon watchers and of course my feathered friends as well for they all keep me smiling! 🙂

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Joyce came to get me this morning and asked me to drive as she was sick and didn’t want to. We checked KP first so the dogs could have a run but Unity was no where to be seen. CarolP,Dana and Dawn were at the Irondequoit mall with the pair of falcons that hang out there so I decided we’d head over there. When we arrived Dawn had left and the female pefa was on an antenna.

She soon flew over to the glass peak in the middle of the mall.

I noticed a large dark bird flying from the east and at first I thought it was a large crow until it got above the female pefa on the glass peak and we all yelled BALD EAGLE!

Click pic for full version

It was magnificent and he soared right above us too! Most of my pics were blurry but I think it’s cuz I was so excited that I couldn’t keep from shaking. My video is a little jumpy too for the same reason. A few minutes later Dana,Carol and Joyce spotted 2 juvie Bald Eagles off to the northwest for a short time. I missed them for some reason. After awhileI told Carol and Dana we were going to check around the other side for the male pefa and as we drove along the east end of the mall Joyce spotted him.

This pair of falcons are gorgeous! A funny coincidence happened where we were all discussing whether pefas mated at this time of year to bond. Well didn’t that male fly over to the female quickly mount her and leave with her following him to the east and out of sight! Joyce and I missed it because of where we were parked but Carol and Dana witnessed it!  We are learning so much from our feathered friends aren’t we? Who knew? Larry and Cleo came by shortly after the show, too late to even see the falcons. When the pair didn’t return right away I decided we’d go look for the Beautyful one downtown. Joyce thought we should check the Irondequoit Bay bridge since that’s the direction they headed but we didn’t find them over there. On our way through Durand Eastman Park Joyce spotted a big Red-tailed Hawk in a tree.

After we left there we checked the Summerville and Charlotte piers for the Snowy Owl without success and then I headed down St. Paul Boulevard toward the city. As we were approaching the Hawkeye division of Kodak I spotted a large bird on the railing of a round metal structure on the roof.

I knew this was a falcon and as Joyce walked up the street to get a closer look I stayed in the car and inspected the pic I had just taken of it’s back. The tail surely looked familiar to me. Could this be Beauty I asked myself? Have I stumbled upon one of her hiding spots? Joyce came back to the car and we went to a parking lot where we could get a front view of this mystery falcon. I knew there was a nest box at this site but I’d never seen it until today. It was right above and in front of this pefa.I didn’t even realize it was a nest box when I was on the backside of it.

After seeing the front of the bird I was fairly certain that this was in fact Beauty. CarolP and I had seen her a couple weeks ago flying from near this location to downtown when we were looking for another nest box on a school off of St.Paul Street. Joyce and I checked downtown and then went back to Hawkeye but she had left by the time we returned so we scooted over to KP to look for Unity. With no sign of her we ended our watch and called it a day! For more pics and a video of the Bald Eagle check out the links below and as always keep smiling!  🙂

http://youtu.be/Sd6qOyZHYGY

Falcon watch with some friends

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Well kids this was the last day with access to a vehicle for a morning watch so I was hoping and praying  Beauty wouldn’t play hide and seek with me. As luck would have it I found her right off the bat on her favorite(and mine too) perch atop the money bag hand of Mercury!

She IS the top dog of her territory and she so looks it when she’s parked up there! Anyway, Beauty soon flew off to the southwest and out of sight. I went on a little jaunt to find her and ended up right back on the Broad St. bridge as she had caught breakfast and was now on the base of Mercury. She rested for a bit before she started tearing into her catch.

It had rained much of the overnight and things were wet so when the Beautyful one started plucking feathers they were sticking to everything!

As Beauty ate,  a crowd was gathering above her. Crazy birds don’t you know to stay away from a bird of prey! lol

Click on pic for full version

Beauty decided to turn around so I drove down to Aqueduct St. When I got there she was just sitting there taking a breather. I thought she was done eating because her crop looked pretty full. Wrong…she started picking at the remains again.

Just check out that crop!!! She couldn’t fit more in without having it stick out of her beak for crying out loud! lol When she was through with her meal and a half she went up onto the foot to stash it.

Beauty kinda ducked behind where I couldn’t see her and snuck out the back door. I drove back up to the bridge to see but she was gone.  I took a quick drive around downtown without finding her so I left to check for Unity at KP. She was no where to be seen so I ended my watch and went home. I made 3 videos and an album of the Beautyful one today. Thought I’d make my last morning watch for awhile go out with a bang. As always they will be at the end of this report. It was really great to share space with our downtown diva, Beauty for 2 hours today. Already I can’t wait til next time but in the meantime I’ll keep smiling and you do the same!  🙂

Morning watch

Morning watch 11-28-11 011.MOV

Morning watch 11-28-11 009.MOV

Morning watch 11-28-11 007.MOV

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

It’s been a busy weekend for me and I’m pretty much out of gas but I loved every minute of having a vehicle again. I took full advantage today by checking everywhere except the old psyche center. Starting DT Beauty eluded me for the most part and the lil birdies on Mercury pretty much tell the story!

More than an hour into my watch I finally spotted the Beautyful one soaring above the Xerox tower. She quickly disappeared behind buildings to the north but a minute later she appeared flying to the south until I could no longer see her. Not finding her again I went to KP and didn’t see Unity anywhere but I saw a white tailed buck again like the other day only this time I got pics.

Click on pics for large version

Next stop was Charlotte to see if that female Snowy Owl was around. No such luck but there’s always ducks and gulls to entertain.

On my way once again I stopped at Russel Station and found some ducks.

On Round pond looking from Dewey Ave. I spotted a whole lot of Tundra Swans.

Moving along from there I went to Braddocks Bay and oh no found the restroom locked up for the year! And the only bird I saw other than some crows was a carved Eagle.

Well, I was getting a little perplexed by this time and decided to check out Shumway Marine for the Snowy Owl on my way to Seabreeze. The only sighting there was a blocked off road and a fake owl on a dock! lol

I whipped down to Summerville to check quick and found this gull by the river.

Arriving at Seabreeze the only wildlife out of the norm was 2 geese on the north shore of  Irondequoit Bay of which I couldn’t identify. Very pretty birds.

I thought for sure I would find our newest pefa pair in Irondequoit at the Medley Centre.  Sadly I came up short again. I had to get home soon to take a pill and make a pitstop but I was drawn to downtown first. Bingo…from the Broad St. bridge I spotted a bump on the northeast corner of the launchpad on the Kodak Tower. I whipped over there and could see she had prey and a full crop!

I took a short video of her eating which will be at the end of my report.

Though it wasn’t quite the exciting watch I had yesterday I certainly enjoyed myself  by just getting out and driving around. We folks in Rochester don’t normally get 60 degree weather at the end of November so it was mandatory to get out and hang with nature!  I don’t know about you but that always makes me smile!  🙂

Morning watch 11-27-11 051.MOV

From Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It doesn’t get much better that today’s outing. It was a cloudy day, but still mild compared to what it could be on a late November day. I’ll take it!

Kathy O, Dana & I met Joyce & Brian down at the Charlotte Pier in hopes of seeing the Snowy. I had to work yesterday, so I missed all the fun. We checked both side of the river with no Snowy sightings. Darn. We decided to check out the Irondequoit Bay Outlet, where someone said they had seen a Snowy, so off we went.

Our bad luck continued. We couldn’t find any Snowy’s there either. Lots of fisherman were out and lots of gulls & ducks and pigeons. We spotted one little one that didn’t look well. It was a juvenile Glacous gull with a broken wing. He was walking around, dragging his wing on the ground and looking for food. We watched him for awhile after giving him so scraps from my breakfast that he gobble down quickly. A decision was made. This little guy was not going to survive without a little help. With Brian’s help, Dana and I were able to catch the gull and put him in my rescue box. We took the bird to a Vet where we knew he would be given good care. I really hope that he is rehabbed and able to be released.

After leaving the Vet, we decided to head downtown, but fate would put a stop to these plans. Brian and Joyce called to say there was not one but two Peregrine Falcons at the Irondequoit Mall. We quickly turned around and headed back towards Irondequoit. For the next few hours, we watched this pair tandem hunt chasing pigeons and finally catching one. The male hit the pigeon and the female caught it in her talons, dispatching it quickly. She carried it back to the mall, landing on the glass roof.

The male was not too patient and kept trying to get his share. The female would have none of that. She took off and we found them on the SE side of the mall on a lamp post. After watching her pluck and eat for awhile, two walkers came a little too close and she took off carrying the prey off to the east with the male in hot pursuit. We could not find where they went

We headed back to join the rest of the Watchers, which now included, Kathy O, Dana, Joyce, Brian, MAK, Dan, Lisa McK, Jeanne and I. It was a blast seeing everyone and being able to watch this pair successfully tandem hunt. It was time for lunch, so we all headed over to Schaellers. Everyone except Lisa, MAK and Dan.

We got a text during lunch from Lisa. There was a Snowy on the back of the Coast Guard garage. So all but Jeanne and headed over to the Summerville where we had a nice visit with the juvie Snowy Owl that had been reported. We spent about an hour watching this beautiful creature look around, just taking everything in. You had to wonder what he thought of his surroundings, so different from his birth place.

We were starting to lose light, so we headed downtown. We didn’t see Beauty, but Brian suggestd that we park in an area where he said the Crows would fly over on their way into the city for their evening roosting spots. Brian did not steer us wrong. As the skies darkened, the Crows starting streaming in a long line overhead. I had never seen anything like it. 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of Crows flew over us heading into the city. It was incredible to see. They were uncountable! Most were silent, but a few cawed and rattled and chased each other as they passed overhead. We all just kind of watched in awe for about 25 mins, when finally the last stragglers came through. What a way to end such a fun and exciting day with good friends and good birds. 🙂

Here’s a link to my Kodak Gallery Album of pics from today and a YouTube video of our pair of Peregrines at the Irondequoit Mall.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=8612526311105%3A604559825

Video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pGO6X7dBtA

Take a look if you’d like. No sign on needed.

Carol P.

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

My morning watch started with a 45 minute search to find Beauty. From the Broad St. bridge I spotted her on the jail tower tucked into the middle of the structure.

I drove over to Troop St. to be closer to the Beautyful one and soon after I arrived she moved to the 3rd arm on the north side.

As I was taking my morning meds she flew off and I missed it so I had no idea which direction she flew. So I went into search mode again. After half hour or so I decided to go to KP and look for Unity. I spent an hour there with no sign of her. I got a call from KathyO that they had 2 Falcons at the Medley Center in Irondequoit so I went there and joined Kathy,Carol,Dana,Joyce and Brian.  What fun we had watching these 2 unbanded pefas fly and hunt together.

Lisa and Dan came to join us just in time to see an awesome tandem hunt. The female flew off first followed by the male soon after. She chased down a pigeon and changed the direction to go right into the path of the male.  He stooped down and whacked it and she flew underneath and snagged it in her talons! It was just breath taking to see. I’ve seen plenty of stoops but never the actual successful ending. Needless to say we were all pretty pumped after that,high fiving and fist bumping each other. The pair of falcons flew back to the glass peak of the Medley Center to catch their breath before disappearing to the other side of the mall to eat their catch.

Jeanne showed up less than 5 minutes later and missed the whole thing. She,Brian and Dan stayed while the rest of us went over to look for them. They were on a double light pole with the female preparing and eating their catch.

They flew to another light pole where she finished eating what she wanted while he flew off and chased a Coppers Hawk away. She then grabbed what little was left and flew to the east followed by him until we could no longer see them. What a great show this pair put on for us. Obviously they have been together for awhile judging on how they worked together. Check out my album and video link below for more from todays watch. I’m sure they will make you smile! 🙂

Afternoon watch 11-26-11 056.MOV

Falcon watch 11-26-11

By Rochester falcon watcher MAK

Joyce picked me up this morning a little after 7:00am and then we got Brian and went to the Summerville Pier where the Genesee River and Lake Ontario meet. Other watchers that met us there were Lynda, Tim,Jeanne and LarryO. Our mission was to find Snowy Owls and the taste of sweet success was ours. After 3 weekends in a row for Joyce, Brian and I we  had a young male at the end of the pier. 5 weeks out from my knee replacement surgery I wasn’t sure if I could walk that far but I sure was willing to try for this was my first time seeing a Snowy in the wild!

On the walk out we came upon this little guy that didn’t seem to be afraid of us at all.

The closer we got to the Snowy Owl, a very large bird of prey the more excited I got.

Don’t forget to click on pics for full version! Naturally MAK the gimp was last to arrive and being quite the emotional gal that I am the tears started to fall as I know I would never do something like this if it weren’t for my falcon family! Once I straightened up I began to click,click,click away!

I turned around and took some shots of the surrounding area.

Oh yeah we have a juvenile male Snowy Owl to look at don’t we? And peeps too!

Joyce likes to get down and dirty! Ask her what she sat on with those white sweats!? Let’s just say that big black splotch on her backside wasn’t a mole!

On the way back to shore we passed some ducks. There was a very high step I had to navigate and I was really running out of steam so Tim took my hand from on top to pull and Lynda pushed my behind  on the count of 3 and everybody got a big laugh out of that!

A good time spent with good people on a good morning!

On to my afternoon watch with Beauty. I spotted her on the FCT as I was driving down Church St, When I arrived at the city hall parking lot Brian and Joyce were there. We watched her move around on her favorite spot under the platform.

Brian and Joyce left to check out the RPC but before they did Brian gave me the remains of one of Beautys’ meals.

I stayed with the Beautyful one as she preened in the sunshine until it faded into dusk.

I had to leave to meet with a doctor about my knee as it looks like it is infected but Beauty and I have a parting gift for you that I think will make you smile! 🙂

🙂

Links below to a video of Beauty and an album from the day. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/YqpGBogZtrU

What a fun day with birds of prey