By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The days continue to be lovely with afternoon temps in the high 60’s.  Loving the continued warmer temperatures and sunshine.

9/25/15 (Friday) – A Falcon Watch with Big Frank(ie) (BF) at the Medley Ctr.

Dana tweeted that BF was at the mall, so that’s where I headed.  When I first arrived, she was on the white vent cap on top of the carousel bldg.

BF took off and flew to the north side of the mall.  I followed and saw her chasing the gulls.  She flew back to the south side of the mall and I found her on the peak of the carousel roof.

She continued hunting, landing on various spots on the mall.  Then Big Frank(ie) took off and flew higher and higher.  I saw her go into a long stoop to the southwest of the mall.

I waited to see if she would return.  When she didn’t, I found a spot to check out St Ann’s which is southwest of the mall.  I saw a large bird on the north end of St Ann’s, but I couldn’t tell if it was a falcon or not.

I headed over to St Ann’s to verify that it was a falcon.  Yep, Big Frank(ie) was on the northeast corner of the building.  She was watching the pigeons fly around her.  I stayed for awhile watching her, then had to leave her to her hunt.

9/26/15 (Saturday) – Beauty and Dot.ca on the Kodak Tower  (Kodak Office)

Today I made my rounds, checking some of the buildings in the area where we see falcons.  I saw no falcons at Kodak Park West or the BS location.  It took me awhile to find any falcons downtown.  Finally I found Beauty on the north side of Kodak Office on the arch ledge.  She had her back to me, so I drove over to the north side to get a better look.  All of a sudden the sweet sound of ee-chups filled the air.  I never get tired of hearing that sound.  🙂

I couldn’t see what had her attention, so I drove back around to the east side.  From there, I could see that Dot.ca had joined her on the Kodak Tower.  He was below her, on the east side of the 20th floor, near the northeast corner.  After awhile, I left them to check on Big Frank(ie) at the Medley Ctr.  She had been seen earlier by Dana and MAK with an unbanded male.  I hoped to see both of them, but had no luck finding them.

I’ll leave you with a few pics I took of Beauty and Dot.ca on the Kodak Tower.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The temperature at the start this morning was 51 (F) 11 (C) with hazy skies but once the sun came up it didn’t take long to break thru the thin clouds that were covering it

Old faithful, Seth, was in his spot on the north top window ledge of Seneca Towers as I began my watch this morning at 7am. I left him and drove around to my spot on Seth Green Dr. where I found Billie eating on the northwest corner and Seth on the west railing.

Seth left while I was tweeting and I decided to go back to the north end to get closer to Buffalo Billie. When I got there Seth was back in his spot on the window ledge. Billie finished eating then did some feaking as she went around in circles.

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I left them a couple minutes later. At first I didn’t find a PEFA (Peregrine Falcon) but after a trip around town I spotted Dot.ca (DC) on the middle arm of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT) while pulled over on the Broad St. bridge (BSB). I went over to Fitzhugh St. to observe him.

DC was just leisurely hanging out up there when I got a phone call from Larry. He said he was passing thru and noticed 2 falcons flying over by HSBC on the east side so I wrapped it up with DC and headed over not knowing if there was an intruder or a juvie and probably Beauty. I found the Beautyful one on top of the RGS antenna-she took off soon after diving to the northeast at 8:01am.

I drove around the area for the next 15 minutes when I spotted what looked like a falcon on a railing on the roof of the Eastman School of Music. I had a hard time finding a good spot to get close enough to try and ID it. I ended up on Winthrop St. off East Main St. in a gated driveway. My pics made me think it was an American Kestrel but when I got home and checked on the computer screen I was sure that it was a Merlin which is in between a PEFA and kestrel in size.

It took off very fast at 8:30am heading south and that was the last I saw of it. I’m thinking that perhaps Larry saw Beauty chasing this merlin for I never found any other falcons on the east side of the river. 15 minutes later I spotted DC on the southeast corner top railing of the Powers building from the Court St. bridge. i drove to the end of Aqueduct St. at Main St. for the best view of him.

DC flew northeast at 8:49am and as I backed to the hole I saw Beauty on the base of Mercury. I then went around to the end of Bank Place and Aqueduct St. to watch.

She was overlooking the near vicinity when I left to go to the Medley Centre in Irondequoit to see if Big Frank would show up for me.

When I arrived around 9:45am Big Frank (BF) was on the pointed peak roof-I was on the south side of the mall when I found her.

I checked my phone and saw a tweet from Dana saying there was another adult falcon on a lower roof which I couldn’t see from where I was, so I circled the mall. I ended up back on the south side and found a spot where I could see an unbanded male just to the west of where BF was on the peak.

He took off while I was tweeting so I had no idea what direction he went. I then went to the east side of the mall to look around and pulled over next to Dana who said the male had flown east. This was a much better place to see BF and shortly after I arrived she got buzzed by a Coopers Hawk. We thought at first that it was the unanded male falcon because we heard e-chupping.

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A few minutes later at 10:13am BF flew east out of view and didn’t return. Dana said she would take a ride around the mall for one last check and I headed home. What a great watch I had in which I saw 7 falcons-Billie,Seth,Beauty,DC,a Merlin,Big Frank and an unbanded adult. And I’m sure y’all know this produced a huge smile on this watchers face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/47b5ybCxuPc

https://youtu.be/pLd_XvHkamI

https://youtu.be/OuyE4giga7Y

https://youtu.be/gBM5X54vJkA

https://youtu.be/xhZtgym4AsQ

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Sunny with bright blue skies and a few clouds-starting temperature was 54 (F) 12 (C)

This morning I found Seth all by himself on the top window ledge north end on Seneca Towers. I found Billie out on the west side railing from Seth Green Dr.

I stayed a few minutes then moved on to downtown. From the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) I spotted Beauty eating on the base of Mercury.

I drove to the Broad St. bridge (BSB) to share space with her. While I was taping a video I noticed a Great Blue Heron (GBH) down in the river. I got some snippets of it flying off after another GBH that came flying in from the north. It made a U-turn and flew over the bridge real low and close to the railing near Thomson Reuters. Good thing a bus or big truck weren’t going by or it would have been hit.

Meanwhile, Beauty finished eating did some feaking and cleaning up. She pooped, roused then turned around and flew northwest.

I guessed she was going over to the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT) so I left and found her there on the bottom arm from Fitzhugh St. around 7:30am.

While I was taping the Beautyful one she went down in the posture when an approaching falcon is coming and sure enough Dot.ca (DC) flew to the south side platform railing then turned his back to me.

A few minutes later, DC quickly flew off real low to the east. In my snippet video you can see him fly off past Beauty. DC returned to FCT coming to rest on the top arm-he started preening and Beauty remained on the bottom arm.

I left our downtown pair at 8am to check the Medley Centre mall in Irondequoit for Big Frank. On my way there I spotted a falcon on a cell tower next to Tops on East Ridge Rd. from Route 104. By the time I got off the expressway and over there it was gone. I suspect it was Big Frank but can’t confirm that. She didn’t show up at the mall for me-I can’t remember the last time I saw her but she’s still going there as Dana and Carol saw her there today.

I headed for home at Seneca Towers where I found Seth on the west railing and Billie on the top south end window ledge. Neither one had food in their crop so they were most likely looking for breakfast to fly by.

I left them at 9:15am-our 4 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons were seen this morning and as usual, that put a smile on my face! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/jIWpyYbSKGc

https://youtu.be/YzA7EDwqMuI

https://youtu.be/rc2GEoNqQ_k

https://youtu.be/dzh7S8He-YI

https://youtu.be/TVGmll0ptgs

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

We are in a dry weather pattern which is making for lots of sunshine here in Rochester-this mornings starting temperature was 53 (F) 12 (C)

I hate to sound like a broken record but I started my watch at the north end of Seneca Towers with Billie and Seth, who were on the top window ledge. They mix it up sometimes by switching sides on me-keeps me on my toes. I’m sure as the days get colder they will be perching on the south end of the building where there’s sun to warm them up in the morning.

Anyway, I left them to check downtown for Beauty and Dot.ca (DC). From the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) I spotted DC on the north corner 2nd I-beam of OCSR where he blended in very well about 7:10am. I drove over to State St. just south of Church St. to get a better look at him.

DC watched all around his surroundings and flew off to the east at 7:30am. I was going to head up to the Broad St. bridge but traffic was backed up due a lane closure so I opted for the ASB again.

When I first pulled over there were no PEFA’s in sight and just as I was about to leave Beauty landed on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications Tower (FCT).

I parked over on Fitzhugh St. by the Sister Cities garage and taped a video of her before she turned around to show me her back.

I then went over to the City Hall parking lot for a side angle of the Beautyful one as she preened a bit. She needs to take a bath for when she roused you could see a lot of dust and dirt shake out of her in the sunlight. If you look real close you can see the cloud of dust and dirt particles above her. If not, my snippet video shows it better

As I was watching someone pull into the parking lot, Beauty left.  just as I was about to go look for her DC came flying in and landed on the southeast cube of FCT. He immediately started feaking so I knew he had been eating-probably leftovers from Beauty as she had a full crop.

After a few minutes he too, turned his back on old MAK so I went back down to Fitzhugh and Church St. DC did some picking at his talons and some more feaking then he settled down into a scrunched down perching position.

I left him a little after 8am and headed for Irondequoit to look for Big Frank but once again he was nowhere to be found. She was seen  a couple days ago near the Sears store on the northeast end of the Medley Centre mall by watcher Dawn. I’m hoping she has just changed her morning routine and hasn’t left the area. Falcons do that sometimes, whether it’s so they don’t over hunt one area or just because they want a change of scenery or what, I just don’t know for sure.

I stayed for half hour or so then I headed home to Seneca Towers where I found Billie and Seth at the north end of the building from my spot on East Ridge Rd. near St. Paul St. She was on the northwest corner preening and he was in his spot on the top window ledge looking at her over his shoulder with a full crop. This pair is really together these days!

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I ended my watch at 9am smiling as all 4 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons were seen and doing fine! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/kOdugyQ4p5o

https://youtu.be/xjFa38KR75c

https://youtu.be/3iQtAxUyelA

https://youtu.be/pDNJYiYA5OM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A sunny morning with a starting temperature of 53 (F) 12 (C)

I began my day with Seth, who was on the top window ledge at the north end of Seneca Towers in his usual spot.

Next stop- the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) where I spotted a falcon on the top east side railing of the Powers building with its back to me.

I couldn’t tell who it was until I got a closer look from the end of Aqueduct St. where it meets Main St. It was Dot.ca (DC)

DC started to spread his wings-I took the pic and before my camera could get back to show him on my little LCD screen he was gone. I suspected he went to the nest box as I looked up quick and didn’t see him in the air.

I returned to the ASB where I could see the front of the Powers nest box and sure enough DC was perched there. I could also see a falcon on the base of Mercury.

I went back over to Aqueduct St. for the best view of Beauty, who was on the base of Mercury about 8am. She was looking over her surroundings.

Just before she flew off, the Beautyful one stretched out her right leg and wing. I wasn’t ready for the take off but managed to get most of her in the frame. They’re so fast!

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I decided to head over to the Medley Center and as I drove down State St. I noticed Beauty over on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications tower so I pulled over and took a couple shots of her. After I left, Donna reported that she saw 2 falcons on the Frontier platform railing from watching the rfalconcam forums pan cam. Thanks and good job eagle eye!

I had no luck again finding Big Frank at the mall in Irondequoit but I did come across a Northern Flicker woodpecker on the sidewalk gorging on ants.

I stayed about a half hour then left for home at Seneca Towers. Billie and Seth were on the north end top window ledge when I got to my checking spot on East Ridge Rd.

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I left them to it at 9:30am as they both had their eyes closed at one point. It was a watch worthy of a big smile as I saw our 2 resident PEFA pairs doing well! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

https://youtu.be/q6SPgHAel_E

https://youtu.be/cj7OMu7T07o

https://youtu.be/Og7jFpfyDM8

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and bright sunshine-the starting temperature was 50 (F) 10 (C)

Billie and Seth were on the top window ledge north end of Seneca Towers across from each other and both were preening as I started out at 7am. I left them right away and headed downtown.

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It took me a while to find a PEFA but I did see a Kestrel on a light pole at Frontier Field. I checked out the river from the Broad St. bridge (BSB) and found a Black-crowned Night Heron hunting.

It flew away and just as I turned around to cross over to the other side of the bridge Dot.ca (DC) came flying in and landed on the base of Mercury at 7:42am. He took a look around then flew down to the tiny ledge below the base next to a small piece of leftover prey.

Soon after Beauty flew in and landed on the base above DC. He kept looking up then tried to land next to her but flew off instead.

A third falcon started flying with DC and at first I thought perhaps we had an intruder but it turned out to be a juvie by the name of Genesee.  DC had landed on Mercury’s hand after flying past the Beautyful one a couple times as Genesee started buzzing past mom.

Beauty and DC watched as Genesee came flying in and landed on the base of Mercury. He soon jumped up to the green part of the base.

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In the meantime, Beauty stayed planted on her corner of the base as Genesee flew off. DC went after him then returned and came to rest on Mercury’s staff. After DC flew east she went up to the green part of the base. While I was taping I spotted a Great Blue Heron in the river hunting so I snapped off a pic of him as well around 8am.

A few minutes later I spotted whom I believe were DC and Genesee flying above and around Xerox from the BSB. They kept going behind the tallest building in Rochester and reappearing. Beauty was now gone from Mercury.  One of them landed on one of the antennas. As I tried to find somewhere to get a better angle for identifying the falcon it left.

15 minutes later I found Beauty and DC on the Frontier Communications tower (FCT). She was on the east side platform railing and he was on the top arm.

While taping them I was focused on DC who kept looking down and when I panned the camera down to Beauty it was then that I realized what he had been watching-Genesee had joined mom on the railing. A couple minutes later as I was parked on Fitzhugh St. in front of City Hall, Genesee walked around the corner to the north side of the railing. I had to move farther down t see all of him as a beam was blocking his face.

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Genesee preened and pooped and preened some more. Just before 9am Beauty flew south and then it was father and son on FCT preening. Genesee appeared to have a little food in his crop.

When I left them, Genesee was napping as I headed for the Medley Centre to try my luck at finding Big Frank.

Well I didn’t find him but I did watch a couple crows fighting over a small bit of leftover prey. One of them flew off with it and then a bunch more followed behind out of view. I had to be somewhere so I wrapped up my watch at 9:45am and left after a fun falcon watch which featured the return once again of Genesee, the juvie that keeps on giving me smiles! 🙂

Be sure to click on the links below to see my videos of Genesee. The first one, my snippet movie, shows the Mercury sequence of events. Also included is a link to a photo album with more pics of the gang

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AaN3DFm0ZMWqkQ6

https://youtu.be/R_E7b0JnJIg

https://youtu.be/K-o-MYIXAzo

https://youtu.be/BtJJSUkEc8g

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was chilly at 46 (F) 8 (C) degrees but the sun made a magnificent entrance and shone bright during my watch

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Just as I stopped and grabbed my camera this morning Seth flew off from his spot on the top north window ledge. I drove around to Seth Green Dr. where I found him on the top south window ledge.

I left him after a few minutes and headed downtown. From the Andrews St. bridge (ASB) I spotted Dot.ca on the north top railing of the Powers building across from the nest box with his back to me.

I tried getting closer but he had other ideas-he flew off before I could. I drove to Fitzhugh St. in front of the Sister Cities parking garage to check Beauty out on the northeast cube and then I went to the City Hall parking to face the Beautyful one.

Beauty did a lot of preening as she was all foofed up and pulling out lots of white down feathers-she is still molting.

I hung out with her for a while and then went searching for DC. I checked Kodak Office first but he wasn’t there. As I stopped on Verona St. on the west side of Kodak I could see him under the northeast wing of Times Square.

I flew down to Basin St. in the hole just in time to get a take off shot of DC as he left to go join Beauty on FCT.

I stopped on State St. to see that he had gone to FCT and found him on the middle arm close to the pole that holds it. Then I went to Fitzhugh St. again where I could observe both Beauty and DC.

It was clear to see that DC had food in his crop as he kept watch above his mate, Beauty who had turned around and was napping on and off.

I left them around 8:30am to go check the Medley Centre. I spent an hour there and all I saw were crows that had taken over the carousel roof, Canada Geese, Starlings, Sparrows, Gulls and a bunny rabbit that ran across a grassy area into a bush.

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When I arrived home Billie and Seth were both home to greet me. I pulled over at the end of East Ridge Rd. to watch them as they were very close to each other on the north top window of Seneca Towers.

This sight made me smile big time as I ended my watch at 10am! 🙂

Click on the links below to see videos from today’s watch

https://youtu.be/aztpZfmO4gQ

https://youtu.be/xlxKDUNdZQ4

https://youtu.be/EVUrfAs9zPI

https://youtu.be/NgnJxA1Xq-4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

The sun kept peeking in and out from behind lots of clouds in the sky this morning with a chilly 54 (F) 12 (C) degrees

I started my watch at 7am on this last day of summer with Seth in his favorite spot on the top north window ledge and when I went out to the south end of the building Billie was on that top window ledge. I went out to St. Paul St. to check her out and then I drove over to East Ridge Rd. to get a different view of Seth.

When I arrived on the Andrews St. bridge I spotted a falcon on the top east side railing of the Powers building that I thought was Beauty until I drove to Corinthian St. for a much closer look. From there I could see that it was Dot.ca (DC).

I spent about a half hour with Mr.Clean and then I looked for the Beautyful one. I found her over on the southwest cube of the Frontier Communications tower. I guess she wanted a different view as this is diaganol to her favorite, the northeast cube. Since it wasn’t a work day I was able to park in the Frontier parking lot for the best angle on her.

I shared space with Beauty for a half hour as well and then I checked to see that DC was still on the Powers building before leaving for the Medley Centre mall in Irondequoit. Big Frank didn’t show up in the 25 minutes I was there. There were Canada Geese in different areas of the parking lot and it made me wonder if she had ever caught one of them since she has taken down an adult Mallard duck and a gull.

Anyway, I went home to Seneca Towers where I found Billie and Seth on the south top window ledge facing each other and catching some sun rays. I observed them from St. Paul St.

While I was taping them Seth flew off to the southeast as Billie watched him. Just as I ended my watch at 9am he returned and they exchanged a few words as he landed.

I smiled as I pulled away because I saw all of our resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons and they were safe and sound! 🙂

Click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/pFjArrTsSb8

https://youtu.be/uQ2SdKHfnHs

https://youtu.be/5dN472e1KdM

https://youtu.be/r8t-ZTccrbM

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

It was cloudy with a breeze and a temperature of 65 (F) 18 (C)

Just as I opened my window at the north end of Seneca Towers I heard Seth start chirping from his spot on the top window ledge. He was announcing the arrival of his mate Billie as she flew in and landed on the northwest corner. She answered him back with a few syllables of her own and less than a minute later she flew off while I was tweeting.

Seth started preening after Billie left and I went out to Seth Green Dr. to look for her. Just as I made the U-turn I saw her land on the top south window ledge.

She settled in so I left for downtown. From the Andrews St. bridge I could see Beauty over on the northeast cube of the Frontier Communications tower (FCT).

I drove over to the Hochstein School of Music parking lot for the best angle as she spread her wings to air out for about half a minute.

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At 7:40am the Beautyful one moved over  from the corner and got settled. I shared space with her for 10 more minutes then I left to look for Dot.ca (DC).

I found DC on the north side arch of Kodak Office. He was doing some serious preening  as he is in a molt and was pulling out little white down feathers that would float away in the breeze.

DC didn’t act like he was going anywhere so I left him to it and set out for the Medley Centre mall in Irondequoit. There were lots of birds all over the property because there was not a falcon to be found. I checked the gull by Target that Big Frank had eating yesterday and found that there was no meat left on the carcass. I stayed about 20 minutes then left for home. When I arrived on Seth Green Dr. Billie was on the southwest end of the roof-she flew off as I pulled over and went down to the northwest corner.

She had a nice full crop and took off after less than a minute while I was tweeting. That would be the second time she did that to me this morning. lol It was 9am and time to call it a watch after seeing our 4 resident Rochester Peregrine Falcons leaving me with a smile on my face! 🙂

As always, click on the links below to see today’s videos

https://youtu.be/_jsRdzT66Iw

https://youtu.be/ixeLBK72fmI

https://youtu.be/9tpUwjdsps4

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

This was probably the last of our very warm, end of Summer days.  It went up to 81 degrees (F).  Tomorrow afternoon/evening brings showers and cooler temps.

I arrived at the Medley Center Mall at 10:15 pm and found Big Frankie (BF) on the south side of Target.  For the next 10 minutes, she made her way down the length of the south side of the building, making multiple small flights.  I could hear small birds and thought she might be on the hunt for one of them.

She flew around to the west side of the building.  From the IHOP parking lot, I had a nice view of her up on the Target roof. Below her was a whole lot of white feathers.  I had noticed the feathers when I passed them the first time.  BF looked all around her and then flew down to the grassy area next to the building, right in the middle of all the white feathers.

She walked over to the remains of a Ring-billed Gull.  I believe it was probably an earlier kill that she made either this morning or last night.  It was fairly fresh.

For the next 1/2 hour (10:30-11:00 am), Big Frankie ate her meal as I watched from across the roadway, where only a few cars drove through. Thankfully she was out of the road and up on the grass near the building.

After filling her crop, she took off and flew around to the north side of Target.  Here’s a picture of the area where she ate.  Lots and lots of feathers!

As I was searching Medley Center for Big Frankie, I was joined by Joyce and Brian H.  Brian had seen BF flying high and heading east.  Dana also joined us.

Joyce and Brian left and Dana & I headed downtown.  We first stopped at the pedestrian bridge at High Falls.  From there, we could not see any falcons.  We split up to check the downtown area.  I finally found a falcon on the north side arch ledge on the Kodak Tower.  It was Dot.ca and he was in the shade.  I checked the rest of downtown and could not find Beauty anywhere.  It was time for me to end my watch.