By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

It was cold, 22 degrees (F) according to the time/temperature sign on State St.

I found both Beauty and Dot.ca tucked into the OCSR elevator shaft.  Dot.ca on the south ledge and Beauty on the north ledge. It’s always nice to see them together.

I spent an hour keeping watch.  All was very quiet and peaceful.  The river was alive with many gulls and ducks.  Here are some pics I took during my watch.

Larry O had reported earlier that he did not see the falcon at the Brighton Site (BS).

After finding no falcons at Medley Ctr (MC) or Seneca Towers (ST), I ended my Sunday watch.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Winter has finally arrived in Rochester, NY.  This morning I woke up to a couple inches of snow and wind chills below zero. Brrr!

Over the weekend, all 6 Rochester Falcons were seen by Watchers.  Here are some pics from my weekend afternoon watches.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

On Saturday, I was only able to find Beauty and Dot.ca.  They were side-by-side on the south side of the OCSR top IBeam.  I had no luck finding any other falcons.

But, I was very lucky to be at Medley Center to witness a successful hunt by a Coopers Hawk.

I was parked in the north side parking lot.  The pigeons all took flight and I though for sure a falcon had arrived.  They were being chased by a crow sized predator, low over the parking lot, heading right toward me.  It caught one of the pigeons and landed close to my car.  Talk about being in the right place.  It was a Coopers Hawk that caught the pigeon.

After a few moments, the Coop first took the pigeon to a grassy area on the edge of the parking lot.  Then to the back of a small building no longer being used.  I was able to just get a glimpse of the hawk and prey through the tall grass.

On my way home, I drove along Lake Ontario and saw a line of Long-tailed Ducks flying over the lake.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

My first stop on Sunday was the Brighton Site (BS).  I found the unbanded female Peregrine Falcon on the north side of the east extension on a window ledge.  This is where Pigott roosted when she was here in Rochester.

Downtown, I found both Beauty and Dot.ca on the north end of the Cross Rds Bldg.  Both had full crops, so they may have been eating up there.

Billie and Seth were home at Seneca Towers. Both on the north end window ledge.

I had no luck finding any falcons at Medley Ctr, but earlier that day, Dana had reported seeing Big Frank(ie) in a tree across from the mall.

So, all 6 Rochester Falcons were seen over the weekend, all doing well.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast and a bit breezy, the temperature was the same from last night when I went to bed right straight thru to the end of my watch this morning.   39 (F) 4 (C)

After making my way over to East Ridge Rd. I found both Billie and Seth on the north window ledge. She was facing me and he was not!

At 7:49am Seth flew off and returned to land on the roof above Billie as she watched. He went in on the roof out of view a couple times and then he settled near the corner.

Billie took off toward the river gorge 2 minutes later and after moving to the corner Seth followed behind her-they didn’t return.

I left for downtown and from th Aqueduct St. in the hole I spotted Beauty on the top I-beam near the south corner.

At 8:13am Dot.ca (DC) flew in from the south and landed about 5 windows away from the Beautyful one. He had a full crop and started feaking so I knew he had just finished eating somewhere.

I left them to check the Brighton Site before going over to walk Bella. No falcon was seen but while I was there, watcher Larry came by with his dog Harold. We chatted and then I left. During our walk we saw a couple deer-below is a couple pics of one of them.

I also checked the Medley Centre where I only found gulls and pigeons eating from a pile of corn or crumbs of some kind in the north parking lot. I ended my watch at Seneca Towers around 10:30am with a smiling face! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/WLGOInvrRjk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with a temperature of 29 (F) -8 (C) and less wind than the last few days

I started my watch at Seneca Towers where both Billie and Seth were home. I found her on the west side railing from Seth Green Dr. When I drove around to East Ridge Rd. I found Seth in his spot on the north window ledge.

When I arrived downtown in the hole, on Aqueduct St., I found Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR, 5 windows apart from each other. He had a huge crop-she did not!

I decided to get closer and went over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. and soon after, the Beautyful one spotted something to the east.

She turned around and flew off that way-DC followed a few seconds later and I never found them again.

I left to check the Brighton site (BS) before picking Bella up for her walk. The unbanded falcon flew in from the northwest and landed on the big silver structure on the roof of the building as I was pulling into the driveway. She seemed to be in hunt mode looking every direction. She ended up turning her back to me so I left to walk Bella at that time over at the Brighton Town Park.

While we were walking along the west end of the pond a falcon came flying thru chasing a gull. It dove on the gull once before reaching us and then once more over the pond before flying off to the south. The gull was fine and flew east. I thought perhaps it was our wintering friend from BS since that’s very close to there so I took a ride over and saw that the PEFA was gone. Possibility.

I went over to the Medley Centre when I was done with Bella but I didn’t see a falcon there or at Seneca Towers, so I ended my watch at 10:50am. Pat reported seeing Beauty on Crossroads at 2:35 this afternoon. After seeing 5 PEFA’s today I went up to my apartment smiling! 🙂

Click on the link below to check out today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/vxO9TUM19fA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was overcast with a bit of snow falling and a temperature of 18 (F) -8 (C) when I started my watch

Seth was in his spot on the north window ledge as I began my day in my spot from East Ridge Rd.

I left him after a few minutes and headed downtown. Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) were up in the OCSR elevator shaft when I arrived at the Radisson Hotel driveway around 8:1oam. She was on the south ledge with her back to me and he was on the north ledge getting ready to take off. He pooped first!

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DC dropped off the ledge and flew over to the top I-beam north corner of OCSR and the Beautyful one remained in the shaft preening.

That’s how I left them as I had to move along to the Medley Centre. I was just about to leave the mall when I spotted Big Frankie on the snowy grass near the northwest entrance to the mall. She was eating a gull.

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Frankie moved her prize toward me a little, started eating again, then pooped and flew off crossing just a few feet in front of my car on her way to a lamp post. She is a big beautiful bird!

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I didn’t expect her to take off so I was lucky to get most of her in the frame. After she landed on the lamp post I checked the gull remains before driving around to watch her.

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Frankie turned a bit so I went around to the other side of her. She started alarm calling when a Turkey Vulture flew into view from the north-she let it continue on to the south out of the area.You can hear her on one of the snippets from my snippet video. She settled down, did some feaking and preening before I left her.

I was lucky to reach my spot on East Ridge Rd. just in time to see Billie fly from the north roof above Seth, who was in his spot on the north window ledge. He watched his girl as she flew down into the river gorge.

When I ended my watch at 9:30am Seth was preening and as I drove past, Billie returned coming to rest on the north roof again. I saw all 5 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons today, thus putting a big smile on this watchers face! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippet video

https://youtu.be/taYSIkwBm7c

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Here are some pictures from my January Falcon Watches.

January 7, 2016

The unbanded female Peregrine at the Brighton Site (BS).

Beauty and Dot.ca on Frontier Communication Tower (FCT).

Red-tailed Hawk on security camera at Hawkeye.

I believe this was Billie at Seneca Towers (ST).

January 8, 2016

Beautiful start to a cold Rochester (NY) day.

January 9, 2016

A day filled with six Rochester Falcons seen.

First, the unbanded female falcon at the Brighton site (BS).  I found her on the south side of the east end of the building.

She became agitated and kept looking up towards the sky to the southeast.  Then she was off!  I spotted her target, a Red-tailed Hawk.  She dove on it a few times and chased it to the south.  When she was satisfied that it would not return, she returned to the building, landing on the east side tree ledge.

Downtown, I found Dot.ca on the north side of OCSR and Beauty on the Cross Rds Bldg.

At Seneca Towers (ST), I found both Billie and Seth on the window ledge at the north end of the building.

I circled the Medley Center (MC) a couple times, but all I could find was a Red-tailed Hawk hunting from a light pole on the northeast end of the mall.

I drove to the south side of the mall for one last check.  Of course that’s when Big Frank(ie) (BF) zipped in, hot on the tail of a pigeon.  She missed and landed on one of the light poles.

The sun was starting to set, so the lighting wasn’t very good at this point.  A few gulls were passing low over the mall heading north.  BF took off and chased one over the mall.  When I arrived on the north side, she was busy diving on a gull over the north west end of the parking lot.  She gave up and the very lucky gull continued on its way vocalizing loudly.  Big Frank returned to the mall, landing on the glass peak.

She took off again and chased some gulls that were flying towards the northeast.  Then returned and again landed on the glass peak.  That’s where I left her as the sun set.

I was very happy to have seen all 6 Rochester Falcons.  🙂

January 10, 2016

A rainy afternoon watch.  At Brighton Site (BS), I found a falcon on the northwest corner of the west end of the building.  I was not able to verify if this falcon had bands or not.  I believe it may have been Dot.ca.  If it was him, he was by himself.  I stayed for over an hour and did not see a 2nd falcon there.

Downtown, I found Beauty on the north side of OCSR.

At Seneca Towers, I found both Billie and Seth on the north end of the building.  One was on the window ledge and one was above on a small structure that jutted out.

No luck finding Big Frank at Medley Ctr.

It’s fun watching our falcons through the winter months!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

As I started my watch it was dark with wind blown lake effect snow falling and a temperature of  17 (F) -8 (C). When I ended it was still windy with bright blue skies, sunshine and the temp had gone up to 18 (F). That’s how lake effect snow squalls work-one minute it’s like a blizzard and the next minute the sun is shining

It wasn’t surprising to me that neither Billie nor Seth were at Seneca Towers this morning as they usually aren’t when there’s inclement weather. I had to give a friend a ride this morning but on the way I quickly checked downtown where I found Dot.ca (DC) on the south side ledge in the OCSR elevator shaft. He had his back to me and was way back on the ledge so at the time I wasn’t sure who it was.

I didn’t get back downtown until 9:15am-the sun was shining brightly and Beauty was on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR glowing from the sun.

I couldn’t stay long as I had more stops to make this morning but I did check the OCSR elevator shaft before leaving downtown and DC was still up there. You could only make out his dark form and tail hanging down over the edge.

A quick check of the Medley Centre where there were no birds of any kind and also nobody present at Seneca Towers when I got home at 10:30am. It wasn’t much of a watch but I still had to smile as the sun is shining and I saw our main pair of Rochester Peregrine Falcons, Beauty and DC! 🙂

Just a short snippet video to check out today-just click on the link below to view it

https://youtu.be/U3fT6X9h5Nc

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A blustery, overcast morning after a dusting of snow overnite and a temperature of 22 (F) -6 (C)

I’m pretty sure I found Seth with his back to me on the north window ledge to start my morning watch. I could see that he had a feather stuck on his cere-we call those a fascinator.

I left him after a few minutes and headed downtown where I found Beauty on the Legacy Tower from Elm St. She was on a northwest corner and seemed to be in hunt mode.

Unbeknownst to me, Dot.ca (DC) was up there in further on the ledge where I couldn’t see him. He walked out into view and ended up next to the Beautyful one for a minute or two before disappearing to her right where I couldn’t see him again. They appeared to have bowed to each other at one point.

Soon after DC vanished he flew off the ledge to the northwest and right after that Beauty pooped.

About 5 minutes later, Beauty dove off the corner, then resurfaced to fly around the north face of Xerox and headed southeast from there out of my field of vision.

I left for the Medley Centre at that time around 8:50am. When I was making my way along the south side of the mall I spotted Big Frankie on a white vent cap over the roof that the carousel is located in the mall. She was definitely in hunt mode.

At 9:22am Frankie took off and flew east over the mall-I followed along and lost sight of her until I made my way around to the northeast end of the mall where Sears is located. It was then that I saw another larger bird being chased by a Big Frankie-a Red-tailed Hawk. She dove on it a couple times over the Kentucky Fried Chicken store on East Ridge Rd and then I lost sight of them to the north.

Neither one of them returned and so I was on my way home to Seneca Towers where no falcons were in sight. I ended my watch just before 10am smiling after seeing some action out of the big girl, Frankie! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/v90m29AgpuI

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Boy, what a difference a day makes! A cold front moved into the area yesterday and caused a 25 degree tumble in the temperature from yesterday morning at 45 (F) 7 (C) to 20 (F) -7 (C) this morning. The sun was shining bright when the clouds weren’t covering it and it was still a bit breezy but not as bad as yesterday

Seneca Towers had no falcons on it today but I’m sure they weren’t too far away, probably hunting or eating somewhere in their territory. When I finally got downtown, (traffic was awful going into the city this morning) I found Beauty on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR from the Broad St. bridge. I went down into the hole on Aqueduct St. to take a few pics but the sun was washing her out a bit.

I left her after a few minutes to go over and check the OCSR elevator shaft for Dot.ca (DC). I figured he would be up there trying to stay out of the cold and wind. From Bragdon Place I could barely make out the white on his dark form on the south side ledge.

I drove back over to the hole to discover that Beauty had moved down to the corner of the top I-beam where it meets the elevator shaft. Maybe the wind wasn’t so bad there or maybe she wanted to be closer to DC, who was right around the corner from there up on the shaft ledge.

I went over to the Radisson Hotel by Main St. where I could only see a little of Beauty, and then I left her and DC at 8:30am to check the Brighton site before walking Bella.

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I didn’t see a falcon but when I was letting Bella out of my car after our walk in the woods a Coopers Hawk flew over us and landed in a tree across the street from Jeannes’ house.

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That was the last raptor I saw today as there were no PEFA sightings at the Medley Centre Mall or Seneca Towers. I took a ride down along the Lake Ontario shore looking for a Snowy Owl that watcher Pat had seen yesterday on the Summerville Pier but I didn’t find it. Pat also reported seeing Beauty and DC on OCSR around 11:30am today, so DC came out of his man cave to join his girl. Not a bad watch as it was nice to see the sun and our resident downtown pair and a hawk for an added bonus. It sent me off with a smile as I ended my watch at 10:35am! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/WIuwSAC–mI

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

If there’s been a warmer winter in Rochester I don’t remember it.  A whopping 45 (F) 7 (C) degrees to start my watch with scattered rain showers, wind and dark conditions

Billie and Seth were on the north window ledge as I turned into my spot on East Ridge Rd. It was very dark out so the quality of the photos is not too good.

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I left them to hang out with each other while I made my way downtown. First stop was the Andrew’s St. bridge where I spotted Beauty on the northeast corner of Crossroads building with food.

I drove over to State St. to watch as she plucked feathers from her prey (pigeon I believe) and start eating.

The Beautyful one turned her back to me as the wind caught her so I went to the end of Graves St. to see the front of her.

I decided to have a look around for Dot.ca (DC) but he was a no-show today. As I was checking the OCSR elevator shaft from Bragdon Place I could see Beauty, so I snapped off a shot of her from there before returning to Graves St.

Beauty picked up her prey to change positions which showed the large wing of a pigeon. She finished eating and flew off with the leftovers with a little help from the wind to the northwest.

I drove around to check the elevator shaft one more time and then to State St. again where I noticed Beauty on the 2nd I-beam northwest side of OCSR.  I assume she cached her leftovers as she was feaking and cleaning up after filling her crop.

We parted ways at 9am when I left for the Medley Centre. No falcons there or at Seneca Towers so I ended my watch at 9:30am. Keep smiling folks-it makes people wonder what you’re up to! 🙂

Click on the link below to see today’s snippets

https://youtu.be/lzaFN6Bb0h0