By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Well I saw the first snow fall this morning-very tiny flakes with overcast skies and a temperature of 36 (F) 2 (C)

Seneca Towers and Hawkeye were devoid of any falcons this morning but downtown had a couple hanging around. I found Dot.ca (DC) on the top I-beam near the south corner of OCSR just before he flew off and went into a lightning fast stoop to the south near Cornhill at 7:18am.

I went for a look around and as I stopped on the Andrews St. bridge I could see a falcon under the southeast wing of Times Square (TSB) so I went straight away over to the hole to find that it was Beauty with her back to the world. The way she was positioned made it hard to find the best location to view her from-I tried Exchange Blvd., Broad St. and ended up back in the hole on Aqueduct St.

At 7:35am the Beautyful one took off and flew around to the the north side of TSB then headed southwest.

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I took a trip around downtown and as I was driving across the Main St. bridge I spotted Beauty back under the southeast wing of TSB. Beauty stayed about 10-15 minutes this time before flying southwest again off the back of the ledge at 8:04am.

I waited to see if she came back and when I circled around in the hole parking lot I spotted the whiteness of DC on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR. He had food in his crop so I believe he must have caught something an hour earlier when he stooped off OCSR. He was feaking and picking at his talons as well.

I left DC around 8:15am and after no luck finding Beauty again I headed over to the Medley Centre. No Pefa’s there so I checked St. Ann’s Home-nothing, and it was the same at Kodak Park on Lake Avenue, Hawkeye and Seneca Towers. No matter, Beauty and DC provided the smile today as I ended my watch at 9:30am! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/x5paHbpmcKc

https://youtu.be/TuNBqd4ZVfs

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Windy and cloudy with a temperature of 50 (F) 10 (C)

This morning as I was getting ready to leave for my watch I saw a falcon fly past my 16th floor apartment at Seneca Towers (ST). When I got outside to check the building there was nobody around and nothing over at Hawkeye (HE) as I passed by.

Once downtown on the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) I noticed the door behind the nest box on the Powers building was wide open.

It wasn’t until I got on the Broad St. bridge that I saw a falcon over on the top I-beam southeast side of OCSR. I drove over to the Radisson Hotel at Main St. and could clearly see that it was Beauty.

Soon after at 7:30am Dot.ca (DC) blew in, I mean flew in from the east and landed down by the south corner at which time the Beautyful one flew off and started hovering above OCSR.

DC didn’t stay long before flying off to look for Beauty. He landed on the northeast side top I-beam of OCSR as she circled above.

Beauty stooped around to the other side of OCSR where I couldn’t see and then DC took off and stooped in the same general area. I went back to the ASB where I spotted DC on the Elwanger and Barry buildings’ green strip eating.

I then went over to the exit driveway of the Holiday Inn (formerly Rochester Plaza Hotel) across from DC for closer viewing.

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DC obviously was eating cached food as there were no feathers being plucked and he finished up in 5 minutes or less. He started looking around (probably for Beauty) then took off at 7:53am flying straight up State St. to the south then he hung a left past the Wilder building heading east.

That would be the last PEFA sighting I had on the day as I never saw Beauty or DC again nor did I see anybody at the Medley Centre or Seneca Towers. I ended my watch at 9:15am happy to have seen a little action downtown which put a smile on this watchers’ face! 🙂

Check out the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/S8oRn4fvmyk

https://youtu.be/xk8Z8SDuLiU

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Overcast and a bit breezy with a temperature of 46 (F) 8 (C) Rain and high winds are in the forecast for today and tomorrow

I checked the north end of Seneca Towers from below in my parking lot first this morning and found Seth on the top window ledge. When I looked up again Billie was just coming in for a landing on the roof directly above her mate.

It’s too close to the building to see them very well so I drove out to my spot on East Ridge Rd. near St. Paul St. I didn’t stay long as I was pressed for time this morning having to take a friend to an appointment.

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So I headed for downtown and just as I was panning the view from the Andrews St. bridge I spotted Dot.ca (DC) flying from the east and land on the southeast wing ring on the very top of Times Square at 7:32am.

By the time I got over to Broad St. for a closer look he was gone do then I went looking for him. One trip around with no luck finding a falcon until I got back to the Broad St. bridge where I noticed one flying above Xerox just about 8am. It flew to the opposite out of view so I drove to Woodbury Blvd. on the east side of the river and then it resurfaced. I thought it was probably Beauty since she likes to hover above Rochester’s tallest building with the wind currents up there.

She continued for the next 15-20 minutes to hover above or soar around the area and stooped a couple times to my delight. When PEFA’s kick on the after burners it is a sight to behold at how fast they can go in seconds.

The first stoop was to the south and the second one was toward the river behind me-this time she didn’t return and when I got to the Broad St. bridge I could see her over on the top arm of the jail tower at 8:23am.

I then drove over to Troup St. for a closer look and stayed only a couple minutes there before heading out for the Medley Centre.

It rained hard on the way over and after one trip around the mall the rain stopped and an opening in the clouds was producing a faintly colored rainbow. I didn’t see any falcons but I did see watcher Dick in the north side parking lot.

I ended my watch at 9:10am smiling for having seen two pair of our Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/hjjIp3Nkai0

https://youtu.be/6YpROcLQCZQ

https://youtu.be/kswvXPDPN7U

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a gloomy, overcast morning with fog and misty rain falling, the temperature was 50 (F) 10 (C) degrees

I dedicate this report to all the veterans who have fought for our freedoms. Thank you! SALUTE!!!

I started my day with Seth, who was on the west side railing at Seneca Towers. The weather conditions did not make for very good photos today.

I didn’t stay but a few minutes before heading downtown. I arrived on the Andrews St. bridge around 7:15am where I spotted the back of Beauty on the top I-beam northeast side of OCSR.

I drove to Bragdon Place for closer viewing but she still would only show me her back as the misty rain was coming down directly at her from the north.

I started video taping Beauty and had a police officer pull up next to me to question me as someone had called in about someone with a camera. People don’t realize that it’s perfectly legal to take pictures of anything you want. It was no big deal as I informed him I was recording a falcon on the First Federal building, which is OCSR’s actual name.

Just before 8am Beauty perked up when Dot.ca (DC) came flying in from the southeast past her and coming to rest on the north corner of OCSR, 7 windows away from her. He too had his back to me.

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While I was watching DC the Beautyful one took off and then DC took a dive off OCSR. I lost sight of him and then I noticed pigeons flying in panic mode ahead of me over the river. Next thing I knew DC was behind them and flew right past me above Bragdon Place and out of sight. Wow, the thrills I’ve gotten from our Rochester Peregrine Falcons the last couple days is just awesome!

DC landed on the north corner of OCSR again real quick then disappeared.  I left and stopped on the Broad St. bridge where I found DC on the top I-beam south corner of OCSR this time, so I continued on to Aqueduct St. in the hole for closer viewing.

DC stayed only a couple minutes and then he was off to the west leaving my field of vision behind the Wilder building.

That would be the last PEFA I saw this morning as I never found Beauty or DC again before leaving downtown. At the Medley Centre all I saw was falcon watcher Dick and a pair of mockingbirds.

I ended my watch at 9:15am at a falconless Seneca Towers, smiling of course! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

https://youtu.be/_LW1w99amrA

https://youtu.be/R_IbwUsrMsA

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Overcast, dark conditions with a temperature of 45 (F) 17 (C)

As I started out at Seneca Towers this morning I found Seth in his usual spot on the north window ledge from below in my parking lot. Once out on Seth Green Drive I spotted Billie on the west side railing.

Moving on to downtown I spotted Beauty on the Mercury money bag (MMB) and Dot.ca (DC) on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT) from the Andrews St. bridge (ASB).

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I drove over to Fitzhugh St. first to check out DC and then off to the Broad St. bridge (BSB) to watch the Beautyful one.

Beauty was in hunt mode but took time out to do some stretching and a little preening.

At 7:38am Beauty took off to the south chasing pigeons over the river to Cornhill then giving up and circling back toward the east side only to disappear behind Legacy Tower.

I took a ride to the east side but didn’t find Beauty and that would be because she went over to FCT and joined DC on the northeast cube as I found them when I stopped on Fitzhugh St.

I thought I’d have a better angle from the City Hall parking lot so I went over there but it wasn’t much better. Soon after I arrived Beauty flew across to the south side of the cube.

Beauty had spotted something that intrigued her so off she went flying south at 8:06am with DC hot on her tail.

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I left for Medley Centre at that time and boy was I in for some action over there. I found a falcon on the glass peak roof and I thought it was Big Frank (BF) at first-turns out, when it flew east abruptly at 8:44am the take off shot showed no leg bands.

And then a few seconds later BF came flying from the west over my head and after the unbanded falcon (UF). They were chasing pigeons over East Ridge Rd. to the northeast of the Medley Centre mall. They gave up on the pigeons and started diving on something repeatedly north of East Ridge Rd. behind Kentucky Fried Chicken. Then they started flying over E. Ridge Rd. (no aggression toward each other observed) before the UF flew east and Frankie doubled back chasing a gull over the north parking lot and diving on it 4-5 times but pulling up at the last second as the gull flew toward the ground.

I felt like I was on safari as I drove around the empty mall parking lot trying to keep up with the action! BF gave up and flew east out of view as well. I took a trip around the mall and ended up in the north parking lot again as I spotted BF on a light pole close to the Sears store at the northeast end of the mall and the UF on the glass peak at 9am. At the time I wasn’t sure who was who so I chose to try to ID the one on the pole as it was close-however, I couldn’t keep track of the bird on the peak from there.

From one angle I could see that there was no band on the right leg but BF doesn’t have one on that leg so I still couldn’t be sure. I drove around to where I could see the left leg but it wasn’t until she stood up to fly off some 45 minutes later that I got a glimpse of the black band. Watcher Dick joined the watch a few minutes before Frankie took off.

I circled the mall one time but didn’t see anyone on the peak as I left for home. When I arrived on E. Ridge Rd. by St. Paul St. I could see Billie and Seth on either side of the northwest corner-he had his back to me on the north railing and she had a full crop on the west railing.

I opted for going over to Seth Green Dr. as it’s a smidgen closer to finish my watch sharing space with Billie and Seth.

I ended my action packed watch at 10:15am smiling big time after having seen 6 Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/l_i49CgfN9E

https://youtu.be/vDavmhLK5Iw

https://youtu.be/m29hToVfjCo

https://youtu.be/lkVeXOPPvbk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A clear and crisp morning today with ample sunshine and a temperature of 33 (F) 1 (C)

Billie and Seth have definitely changed up their morning routine as sightings have been scarce and today was no exception. I didn’t see them at Seneca Towers or Hawkeye.

Once I got downtown on the Andrews St. Bridge I spotted the whiteness of Dot.ca (DC) on the top I-beam north corner of OCSR.

DC left while I was driving to State St. for a closer look and I found him on Widows Walk (WW) with Beauty. He was on the southeast corner and she was on the northeast corner below the railing. Both were eating so I assumed DC grabbed a piece when he arrived.

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DC made short work of his piece of the goods then flew up to the west side railing while Beauty continued eating.

Beauty stopped eating at 7:30am and strolled over to the southeast corner and picked up a leg. As she started returning to the northeast corner with it DC flew around and got there first.

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Beauty gulped down the leg she had found then walked over closer to DC. He finished eating and flew over the Beautyful one up to the east side railing of WW.

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It looked like they bowed to each other and then Beauty went back over to the southeast corner and found yet another bit of food.

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DC turned around and showed his back to me when Beauty finally finished eating. She flew south at 7:47am.

DC remained for a few more minutes and then he too, flew south. I didn’t find them after that and left for the Medley Centre.

Arriving at the mall around 8:15am I found Big Frank (BF,Frankie) on a light in the north side parking lot. She did some posing for me as she watched her surroundings.

I shared space with Frankie for only 5 minutes when she turned around and flew east into the horizon out of view.

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That’s it in a nutshell as I didn’t find anybody home at Seneca Towers and ended my watch at 9am with a smile! 🙂

Click on the links below to check out today’s videos

https://youtu.be/2ARqXyMG8ME

https://youtu.be/QX4DorSQTY8

https://youtu.be/2cxaWZ5Tbrw

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A sunny but chilly morning with a temperature of 39 (F) 4 (C)

Billie and Seth were both at Seneca Towers (ST) to greet me this morning-she was on the north end roof and he was directly below her in his spot on the window ledge.I watched them for a few minutes from my spot on East Ridge Rd.

I made my way downtown arriving a little after 7am where I found Dot.ca (DC) from the Broad St. bridge near the south corner top I-beam of OCSR. I went down to the hole parking lot for the best look at him. The sun was shining so bright on him that it was hard to get a decent pic as they were all washed out.

The gulls were out in full force down in the river and some starlings were having quite a conversation on a street light. Larry reported seeing a falcon at the Brighton Site around 8am.

Remember to click on my pics to see the full version

I took a couple trips around downtown to look for Beauty to no avail and ended up back in the hole watching DC as he did some stretching. The sun went behind a cloud momentarily so I was able to get a half way decent pic of him peeking in my direction.

I left downtown after a couple more trips around to find the Beautyful one, but no such luck. There’s not a whole lot of color left on trees so I took a couple to savor. The first one is off Andrews St. across from the Federal building and the other one is from the east end of the Medley Centre mall. I didn’t see Big Frank there today.

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I headed for home and found Seth on the north window of ST with prey underneath him. He was just standing over it-no plucking of feathers or eating for the 10-15 minutes I observed him. I thought perhaps he was waiting for his girl, Billie to share it.

I ended my watch at just about 9am with a smile as I always do after starting my day with Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/lGIpZ67Gqr8

https://youtu.be/nN-Yy2xit1A

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Back to normal temperatures for this time of year at  48 (F) 9 (C)  degrees and overcast skies and a few raindrops here and there

I didn’t see anyone at Seneca Towers or Hawkeye today so I was downtown earlier than I have been lately. It took a couple trips around before I came across Dot.ca (DC) on the southeast wing ring at the top of the Times Square building from the Court St. bridge. I drove to Broad St. next to the Democrat & Chronicle to watch him from below.

DC was busy looking around every which way and then he spotted something to the northwest and took off in that direction at 7:39am.

I thought to myself at the time I bet Beauty showed up with food and sure enough when got over to Fitzhugh St. below Widows Walk she was on the northeast corner eating and a few feet from her on the north side was her little friend DC.

You could see the wheels turning in his head as he worked on a strategy for getting some food from the Beautyful one. Larry reported seeing a falcon at the Brighton site around this time.

After a few minutes DC made his move and walked over to Beauty at 7:56am going out of my field of vision for half a minute then back over with a small tidbit to eat. It didn’t take him long to eat it and when he was done he snuck over again only this time they had a bit of a tug of war. He went out of view again and then a flurry of wing flapping took place with Beauty flying off with the tiniest piece of food in her beak and then he flew off right after her as they headed northeast.

I didn’t find them again so I headed over to the Medley Centre where I found Big Frank on a light pole near the northwest corner of the mall. She had an empty crop and looked to be in full hunt mode as she looked every which way.

At 8:27am Frankie spotted something to the west and flew over the Target store chasing pigeons and gulls. She circled around past St. Ann’s home then flew back thru above the mall stirring up all the pigeons and then she disappeared to the east.

I left for home and ended my watch at 8:45am after not finding Billie or Seth at Seneca Towers. Once again, DC gave me ample smiles from his food antics! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/LOUufpBntGM

https://youtu.be/fi_P6RVO1eY

https://youtu.be/7AyStDxEgc8

https://youtu.be/UDyvZae37f4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was dark and overcast with rain on and off and very windy -temperature was warm again at 67 (F) 19 (C) degrees

I started out with no falcons at Seneca Towers or Hawkeye and when I got downtown it took quite a while before I found one. Finally, at 7:53am I spotted Dot.ca (DC) on the middle arm of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT) from the Andrews St. bridge (ASB).

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I drove over to Fitzhugh St. in front of City Hall to watch DC. He was hanging on and flitting his tail feathers to keep from being blown off by the wind.

At 8:07am DC must have spotted Beauty as he spread his wings and flew south.

As I was turning onto Broad St. from Exchange Blvd. I saw Beauty and DC on the Mercury statue-she was on the money bag and he was on the base.

They didn’t stay long for when I was tweeting their whereabouts they left and went over to Widows Walk. I found them there  when I pulled into the hole parking lot to have a look around.

I’m not sure who was who as I couldn’t get a good angle on them from the hole or from Fitzhugh St. They flew west while I was trying to find a better place to park. The Beautyful one came back and landed on the northeast corner below the railing of Widows Walk at 8:30am and then flew east out of view.

I wasn’t able to locate Beauty or DC again so I left for the Medley Centre where I found Big Frank (BF) on a glass roof near the east side of the mall. She was only there a couple minutes before flying south out of view. I didn’t find her again after that.

When I got to my spot on East Ridge Rd. near St. Paul St. where I can see the north and east sides of Seneca Towers I found Billie on the north window ledge and she had food in her crop.

I left her soon after and ended my watch at 9:45am. I didn’t see my little buddy Seth today but I saw the rest of the Rochester Peregrine Falcons which is more than enough reason to smile! 🙂

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

https://youtu.be/_tUPyd3XRZY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a very balmy 62 (F) 17 (C) degrees for a November morning in Rochester with overcast conditions and a rain shower at the beginning of my watch

I could see Billie on the northwest corner of Seneca Towers and Seth in his spot on the north window ledge when I stopped in my spot on East Ridge Rd. She took off before I could get my camera in position and I just got a snippet of him as he was taking off. They didn’t return so I drove up St. Paul St. toward downtown and found Billie and Seth on the ring behind the Hawkeye nest box.

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Seth took off soon after I arrived and returned a few minutes later in the pouring rain that had started falling after he left. He landed real close to Billie and they both seemed to be taking a shower as they spread their wings a bit.

It stopped raining and Billie took off toward the river at 7:31am. Seth left a few minutes later as well.

I left for downtown again and when I arrived on the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) I spotted Beauty and Dot.ca (DC) on the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT).  She was on the east side of the lower red section eating and he was below her at first.

I went to the City Hall parking lot first but couldn’t see them too well from there and ended up on Fitzhugh St. next to the Sister Cities parking garage.

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After the Beautyful one was finished eating she moved up and DC moved over a bit before flying to where I couldn’t see him.

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I went to the ASB to check FCT from a distance to see if I could see DC and it worked-he was in the middle of the structure and Beauty had moved to the northeast cube at first and then he flew up to the northeast corner of the platform railing above his mate.

I left for the Medley Centre (MC) at around 8:30am and was pleasantly surprised to find Big Frank (BF) on a light pole in the north side parking lot of the mall and watcher, Dick was there watching her. I hadn’t seen Frankie in quite some time and was thrilled she was there.

She spent a long time watching all around her and did some stretching and preening.

Then something kind of bizarre happened-Dick left and came back around 9:30am dangling a gull carcass out his window and dropped it in the parking lot below BF then took off. He had reported seeing BF eating a gull yesterday so I don’t know if this was that bird or one that she had caught earlier today as she did have a bit of food in her crop.

I had to get going and as I left I noticed Dick was there watching Frankie. When I got to Seneca Towers I found no falcons to be home. I ended my watch at about 10:30am smiling after seeing 5 Rochester Peregrine Falcons! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/i8fVU_Zbhkg

https://youtu.be/QrnaPx6jnUU

https://youtu.be/Lt1nBy4EEGA

https://youtu.be/ExYOLq3CEzU