By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

(2:45 – 4:00 pm)

With a thunderstorm pushing it’s way towards Rochester yesterday, high winds and dark skies to the west, I knew I didn’t have long to check on the Rochester Falcons.  When I left work, Beauty was on the eggs.  Soon after I arrived downtown, they had switched, but I didn’t realize it until I received a text from cam watcher NCA that Dot.ca was on the eggs.  Thank you!

At first I couldn’t find Beauty, but finally, from the Andrews St Bridge, I spotted her on the OCSR 2nd Ibeam down from the top, at the west corner.  I made my way back to ‘falcon central’ (on Broad St, near the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  From there I had a nice view of Beauty.  During my watch, Beauty preened and stretched the whole time, but never moved from that spot.

I kept an eye on the sinister looking clouds approaching from the west and decided to leave at 4:00 pm.

It was a short watch, but both Rochester Falcons were accounted for!

Carol P. – 4/21/15

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

During incubation the watches will be very quiet, and that’s ok.  My last three watches have been very quiet and peaceful, just how I like them.

Friday, April 17, 2015 (2:45 to 4:15 pm)

My afternoon watches have been especially quiet.  The only falcon activity I see is a possible changing of the guard.  Usually Beauty going into the nest box and Dot.ca coming out.  That’s what happened on Friday.  Dot.ca was on the west corner of the top Ibeam on OCSR.  I set-up my watch at Falcon Watch Central, which is on Broad St close to the Times Square Bldg (TSB). From there I had a good view of the nest box and OCSR.

During my watch, I was joined by Joyce and Brian H.

Saturday, April 18, 2015 (10:30 am to Noon)

Downtown was really busy.  Every parking spot was taken on the Broad St, so I made my way down to Aqueduct St (aka ‘the hole).  From there, I saw no falcons.  Kathy O arrived and found Dot.ca on the north side of the OCSR.  I joined her on the Andrews St Bridge.

Since it was so quiet, we joined Dana at Seneca Towers, where it was also very quiet.  We did not see any falcons while we were there.

Sunday, April 19, 2015 (11:00 am to 3:00 pm)

I arrived downtown close to 11:00 am.  It was chilly (temps in the 40’s), but the sun was shining.

I settled on the Broad St Bridge.  No falcons were in sight.  I saw a falcon fly out of the nest box at 11:20 am.  It headed east over the library. When I looked back at the OCSR, I saw a falcon at the south corner of the top IBeam.  At 11:25 am, this falcon flew into to the nest box.  Joyce texted me to let me know that Beauty was now in the nest box.  I waited to see if Dot.ca would return. When he didn’t, I headed over to the BS location for a quick check at 12:10 pm.  It was very quiet there.  I headed back downtown ending up on Aqueduct St aka ‘the hole’.

Just before 12:45 pm, I heard some falcon vocalization coming from the nest box above.  Beauty flew out and landed on the Wilder Building green strip.  Ei tweeted that Dot.ca had arrived and taken over incubation of the eggs.  Thanks Ei and Joyce for your help today.

At 1:00 pm, Beauty took off and headed southwest, behind the Times Square Building (TSB).

I went in search of Beauty, ending up on the Broad St Bridge.  I didn’t find Beauty, but I did find my friend and fellow Falcon Watcher Dan S.  It was so nice to see him.  You know that the Falcon season has started when Dan comes out to watch.  🙂

Just after setting up our lawn chairs, we spotted Beauty on the OCSR top IBeam at the west corner.

At 2:00 pm, Beauty was gone from OCSR.  Then we saw a falcon fly over us heading east where we lost sight of it.  We believed that it was Beauty, but we missed that Beauty had entered the nest box and the falcon we saw fly over was Dot.ca.  The Rfalconcam cameras showed the switch at 2:01 pm.

Joyce joined us on the watch.  We chatted until 2:30 pm, when Dan had to leave.  I drove around downtown one more time to see if I could find Dot.ca.  I found him on top of the Xerox building on the west side, 5th column in from the northwest corner.

It was a wonderful weekend to falcon watch!  A big hello to the students in Jill’s kindergarten class!  So happy that you are all watching the Rochester Falcons!  Enjoy!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

The quiet continued during my 2:45 to 4:20 pm watch.  When I first arrived, there were no falcons in sight.  When I left work, Dot.ca had been in the nest box on the eggs.  So, where was Beauty?

I went on a search around the city and could not find her.  When I returned to the Broad St Bridge, I tweeted that I could not find a 2nd falcon. Within a few seconds my phone went off.  It was a text from Kathy O and an RfalconcamNow message from Camp.  I apologize to anyone else that may have texted me.  My phone has not been receiving some tweets.  I appreciate all your help.  While I was out searching for Beauty, she was at the nest box with Dot.ca (DC).  lol  After reading the texts, I looked up just in time to see Dot.ca com out onto the nest box platform.  Beauty was now on the eggs.  Dot.ca flew out of the nest box and landed on the OCSR top IBeam at the west corner.

I ended up at “Falcon Central”, which is on Broad St, closer to the Times Square Bldg (TSB).  From there I had a nice view of the nest box and Dot.ca on OCSR.

It was such a nice day with sunshine and temps in the 60’s.   I was soon joined by Joyce and Brian.  We watched Dot.ca as he preened, stretched and pooped.  This was the only falcon activity during my watch, until 4:15 pm when I was ending my watch.  DC took off and we did not see what direction he took.  On my way home, I received a tweet from Joyce saying that she and Brian had found DC over on the Frontier Communication Tower.

Other watchers reports from the day.

MAK reported that she had seen both Billie and Seth at 11:21 am. from her balcony.  They put on quite the flight show for her and her friend.

Joyce and Brian reported seeing one falcon flying over Seneca Towers at 5:24 pm.

At 5:36 pm, Kathy O reported that Beauty was eating on the base of Mercury, while two Turkey Vultures circled above.  At 5:47 pm, Beauty went back to the nest box and Dot.ca landed on top of the Mercury statue.  From there, he took off, heading west.

Drizzly rain this morning, but it should clear up later.  Enjoy the day everyone.

Carol P. – 4/17/15

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

I stopped downtown after work on Tuesday (4/14) and Wednesday (4/15).  Other watchers, including Kathy O, Larry O, Joyce and Brian H, have also been checking things out.  Here are my observations from Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday – 4/14/15 – 2:45 to 4:15 pm.

Just after I parked my car on the Broad St. Bridge, I was joined by Brian H, who had been watching from the side of the library.  A few minutes later, Dot.ca (DC) flew out of the nest box and over to the OCSR.  He landed on the top IBeam, close to the south corner.  We were notified by the cam watchers that Beauty was now in the nest box incubating the eggs.  Thanks to all that help out the watchers in the field, letting them know what’s happening up at the nest box!

<Insert picture of small falcon on OCSR top IBeam>  🙂

That was our only falcon activity during our watch.

Wednesday – 4/15/15 – 2:45 – 4:15 pm

When I left work, Dot.ca was on the eggs.  In the short time it took be to drive downtown and park on the Broad St Bridge, Dot.ca was over on the OCSR top Ibeam, close to the south corner.  Kathy O texted me to let me know that Beauty was now in the nest box and to ask if I had checked out the nest box on my new phone.  I haven’t gotten that far yet.  hahaha!

During my short afternoon watch, Dot.ca took off heading east.  A few minutes later, he returned to almost the same spot at the south corner.  That was the only falcon activity I witnessed.

<Insert picture of small falcon on OCSR top IBeam>  🙂

Now that Beauty and Dot.ca are into hard incubation of their 4 eggs, the watches should be peaceful and quiet.  That is unless another falcon or intruder passes by.  They will be very vigilant now, aggressively  “escorting” anything they deem to be a threat to their young out of their territory.

I love the peaceful and quiet watches and can’t wait for the appearance of small, white fluffy eyases in the nest box!

Enjoy the day everyone! – Carol P (4/16/15)

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Sorry that I don’t have time to do a more thorough falcon watch report.  But, I thought you would enjoy seeing some pictures I took today and yesterday, while out on watch.  Dana joined me both days.  All was peaceful and quiet both Saturday and Sunday.  No third falcon seen.  So, here is what I saw while out watching falcons this weekend.  Enjoy!

Saturday, April 11, 2015 – Still windy and chilly!

Sunday, April 12, 2015 – What an absolutely gorgeous Spring Day with temps in the 60’s (F)

Dana and I started our watch at Seneca Towers this morning around 9:30 am.  We saw both Billie and Seth soaring above the river.  Lots of activity by these two.

After spending a couple hours watching Billie and Seth, we made our way downtown to watch Beauty and Dot.ca.  They were also very active, obviously enjoying the warmer weather like their watchers.  lol

We started our downtown watch after finding Beauty on the top of the Mercury statue.  Here is what Dana and I saw.

After Dot.ca ate his share on the north side of the Times Square Bldg (TSB), he took the remainder of his meal, which was quite large, to Beauty at the nest box.  She accepted his food gift and took it to the base of the Mercury statue to eat.  Dot.ca reluctantly (yeah right! lol) went back into the nest box to cover the eggs.  A job he thoroughly seems to enjoy!

It was a wonderful weekend to be out watching falcons.  All 4 Rochester Falcons were seen each day.  All was quiet and peaceful.  Just how I like it!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

Rochester, NY was under a high wind warning today from 8:00 am to Midnight, with gusts up to 60 mph.  Needless to say my watch was VERY windy, with temps in the 60’s (F).

When I left work, Beauty was in the nest box on the eggs and that’s where she was when I arrived on the Broad St Bridge at 2:45 pm. Thanks for confirming Ei and Donna!  I quickly found Dot.ca, who was on the south side of OCSR on the top IBeam, near the south corner.

While things were quiet, I got out of my car to check out the river.  The river was running high and fast!  Here is what I saw from both sides of the Broad St. Bridge.

The winds were pretty intense.  I could feel spray from the river below.  Not much was flying, except a lot of garbage and some brave pigeons.  Most of the pigeons in view were huddled together on nearby buildings.  This was my view of the area from the south side of the Broad St. Bridge showing where Beauty in the nest box and Dot.ca on OCSR were located.

At 3:15 pm, Dot.ca was gone from OCSR.  I waited to see if he would return.  When he didn’t, I drove over to the Andrews St Bridge to check out the other side of OCSR, the Frontier Communication Tower and Kodak.  I could not find him on any of these places.  I really wish I had stayed on the Broad St Bridge.

While I was looking back towards the south, I saw two falcons flying over the river near the Mercury statue.  One was chasing the other one, both heading down towards the river at a high rate of speed.  They both flew back up and over the Broad St Bridge.  I lost sight of them as they both headed east.  As quick as I could, I made my way back over to the Broad St Bridge and waited.  I had no way of knowing if Beauty was still in the nest box or not.

At 3:52 pm, I texted that a falcon flew by fast over me, heading directly to the nest box.  Her wings were tucked back.  This is the only picture I could capture of Beauty returning to the nest box.

Soon after Beauty entered the nest box, Dot.ca came in fast, heading towards the top of the Times Square Bldg.  I thought he was going to land, but he ended up returning to the top IBeam of OCSR, where he had been when I first arrived.  This was all in my 3:52 pm text.

When I got home, I checked out the Rfalconcam Archives and saw that Beauty left the nest box in a hurry at 3:36 pm and returned at 3:43 pm.  I believe that she went after an intruder, another female based on size, that came in too close to Times Square Bldg, and that she chased it off to the east.  Both Beauty and Dot.ca returned from that direction.

When I left, a little after 4:00 pm, all was quiet; Beauty in the nest box on the eggs and Dot.ca on guard on OCSR.  I, and I am sure other watchers, will be out this weekend keeping an eye on the situation.  It looks like both Beauty and Dot.ca are working together to keep this 3rd falcon out of their territory.  I just checked the Rfalconcam Cameras and they show Beauty in the nest box on her and Dot.ca’s 4 eggs.

Oh, and I was thrilled to hear from Kathy O that Rhea Mae laid her and Tiago’s 2nd egg this afternoon while I was downtown on my afternoon watch!

Just before I ended my watch, five helicopters flew by on the north side of OCSR heading southwest.  That was quite a sight!

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

Another dark, overcast morning with a temperature of 34(F) 1(C) and calm winds

After stopping on the Broad St. bridge for a look around I headed down to Aqueduct St. in the hole where I promptly found Beauty on the Wilder green strip just before 7am. She didn’t stay long, maybe a minute, before flying north to the west corner top I-beam of OCSR.

I left for State St. across from the Rochester Plaza Hotel to get a better angle on Beauty as I could only see her back from the hole. She did lots of preening, even pulled out a few white down feathers while she was at it.

I shared space with the Beautyful one for as long as I could before having to leave around 7:45am. I would like to have seen Dot.ca, but he was busy incubating eggs which I think he would rather do more than anything else in life.

As I approached Seneca Towers on St. Paul St. I saw a falcon fly out from the south side roof and head east. I drove down East Ridge to look for it but came up empty. A friend of mine told me they saw a falcon flying near Rochester General Hospital the other day so our local watchers might want to add that to their places to check list. When I came back through, I pulled into the Northridge Church parking lot where I spotted a falcon on the north side roof above the windows with food.

This falcon looked big to me so I believe it was Billie-whoever it was they spent about 10 minutes eating before turning to fly off with the food down into the river gorge and didn’t come back up.

I ended my watch at 8:30am when it didn’t return. This afternoon, just like yesterday, 99 has been a busy flyer passing my window many times no more than 30 feet away from the building. This is my last watch for a while as I am having major surgery tomorrow. Until I return I’ll have to find other things to make me smile like our beloved Rochester Peregrine Falcons do! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

https://youtu.be/41Gmt52xbpc

https://youtu.be/q-uZaPR-M-U

https://youtu.be/zHEJkNDXTbY

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A dark and partially foggy start with a temperature of 34(F) 1(C) turned into a sunny day here in the flower/flour city

I had a frustrating watch this morning as my phone was very slow sending and receiving tweets and there were distractions keeping me from keeping track of Beauty and Dot.ca (DC). Thank you to those who helped me!

When I landed on the Broad St. Bridge I saw Beauty on the base of Mercury eating-I went down to the hole to watch.

She didn’t eat for long before taking a small piece to the green part of the base where I believe she cached it or ate it. Can’t be sure because she was blocked from my view where she went. She peeked at me and then she was gone.

This is where I lost track of the Beautyful one as I didn’t see what direction she flew. Next thing I knew there was a falcon on the west corner top I-beam of OCSR and then it flew to the Mercury money bag (MMB). I thought it was Beauty but it turned out to be DC. I kept thinking boy, she looks small up there today.

Suddenly, DC flew off toward OCSR and at that time I saw the exterior OCSR elevator reach the top of the shaft. DC flew at it and I thought he was going to go in on one of the ledges. Then the elevator started making its way down and DC dive-bombed it 4 times until I could no longer see it and he returned to the MMB. Next, I saw who I thought was DC on the west corner top I-beam of OCSR. Turns out it was Beauty as I was again distracted by my phone. Ugh!

I had to be somewhere at 9am so I ended my watch at that point. It made me smile to have seen both Beauty and DC even if I didn’t always know who I was looking at! 🙂

Click on the links below to view today’s videos

https://youtu.be/opCPbqHKtNg

https://youtu.be/MenLcNT-qQk

By Rochester Falcon Watcher Carol P.

11:15 am to 3:00 pm

A Very Happy Easter to everyone!

It was 34 degrees (F) and snowing during my entire watch.  I started at Kodak Park West, to check on the falcon I have seen there.  I saw no falcons there today.

I headed downtown.  Before I left home, I checked the cameras.  Dot.ca was in the nest box on the eggs.  From the Broad St Bridge, I was unable to find any falcons.  Finally from the Andrews St Bridge, I found a falcon on the north side of  the OCSR, on the west end of the top IBeam.  With the snow, there was no way I could ID this falcon.  Thanks Donna & Pat, for letting me know that Beauty was now in the nest box.  So, this was Dot.ca on OCSR.  He was facing the Times Square Bldg, keeping an eye on his family.

All was quiet, so I made my way over to the area where Brian and I had found an injured Mariah.  That was 6 years ago!  Every Easter Sunday, I come downtown to watch the falcons and to remember that day and remember Mariah. <3

I noticed that they have done a lot of work on the old Midtown Plaza.  The tower section at the top is looking good.

It was time to return to the Broad St Bridge.  From there, I could see that Dot.ca moved over to the top arm on the Frontier Communication Tower.   I drove over to the City Hall parking lot for a closer look.

Dot.ca took off when I wasn’t looking, so I didn’t see what direction he took.  Back to the Broad St Bridge.  I received a text from Brian H.  He was up on top of the South Ave Ramp Garage.  He could see Beauty in the nest box, but had missed seeing Dot.ca. After awhile, Brian came down to join me.

All was quiet.  At 2:00 pm, I took Brian home and returned to the Broad St Bridge for another look.  No falcons seen from there. I moved closer to the Times Square Bldg and spotted a falcon on the Wilder Bldg green strip.  A text from NCA (thank you!), told me that this was Beauty.  Dot.ca was now in the nest box.

Beauty started to vocalize and look up.  She was very agitated.  I looked up just in time to see a falcon pass over, very high, heading west.  I hoped that Beauty would just let the falcon pass, but no, off she went.  I followed the best I could, but could not see either of them.  After circling the area a few times, I headed over to the Kodak Tower.  There she was!  Beauty was on the south side of the Kodak Tower on the arch ledge.  I was very happy to see her up there.

At 3:00 pm, I ended my Easter Sunday falcon watch.  Except for the 3rd falcon passing over, all was peaceful and quiet.

By Rochester Falcon Watcher MAK

A dark dreary morning with a temperature of 33(F( 1(C) was on tap for this morning with snow showers forecast

I was running a little late this morning but no matter because there’s not much going on these days now that hard incubation has begun. I was hoping for a quiet watch since there tends to be drama around Easter and I got that and more.

When I turned onto the Broad St. Bridge from South Ave. I spotted a falcon with its back to me on the base of Mercury. I drove down further and made a U-turn to see the front of it so I could identify who it was but it was gone by then. Thanks to Donna, who let me know Dot.ca (DC) was on incubation duties so I knew who to look for-the Beautyful one! After a look around the immediate area near Times Square, I headed to the Andrews St. bridge to check the scene from there. As I was scanning the landscape with my binoculars I saw Beauty fly up to the southeast wing of Times Square and land.

I left for the hole parking lot to share space with Beauty who had her back to me for the entire rest of my watch. Fellow falcon watcher Larry and his dog joined me just before 8am.

I scrapped most of my pics as they were not good with the poor lighting but I did manage to get a couple of Beauty when she turned.

Larry and I parted ways around 8:30am-I went home to check for Billie and 99 at Seneca Towers but they were nowhere to be found. Maybe sitting on eggs somewhere!? I waited about 20 minutes to see if anyone would show up but that didn’t happen so I ended my watch at 9am. Happy Easter and keep smiling! 🙂

Just a snippet video today-click on the link below to view it

https://youtu.be/XmuGKnJEHco